


Hunting for Retribution

by immortalvessel



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: A lot of swearing because Levi, Angst, Betrayal, Blood, Canonical Character Death, Depression, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Extreme angst, F/F, Gun Usage, Homicidal Thoughts, Infiltration, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Non-Canonical Character Death, Panic Attacks, Seriously there's a lot of angst, Sexual Tension, Skinwalker, Slow Build, Suicidal Thoughts, Swearing, Torture, Undercover, Vampire werewolf Au, Violence and Gore, War, Werewolf, Yaoi, Yuri, can't say I didn't warn you, dark content, darker than the bags under my eyes, delicious character development, ereri, just a lot of sadness in general, no sexual content at the moment, physical fighting, sexy vampire levi, sexy werewolf eren, snk alternate universe, the gay will happen eventually I promise, this may change, vampire, why am i like this?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-05-10 08:42:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 78,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5578933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immortalvessel/pseuds/immortalvessel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I turned around and my jaw dropped. I was staring into light grey eyes. I had seen this vampire before. He was one of the vampires that had attacked my village. I couldn’t help but gape at him as I remembered that day. I remembered seeing my dead friends and family littered across blood spattered grass. I remembered my body pulsing with hatred as we charged at each other, both with the cutthroat intention to tear the other apart.<br/>He was scowling at me, his thinly sculpted, cruel face appearing more handsome than I remembered. The harsh lamplight caused shadows to creep under his eyes and down his neck, somehow making him seem even more attractive.<br/>“Who the hell are you looking at, boy?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An Ordinary Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and Welcome! This is my first snk fic and my first fanfiction on archive, so I'm pretty new here. I love comments, so if you have something to say, good or bad, just go for it. I do ask that you be civil though. Also, just so you know, I am absolutely atrocious at updating, so if that drives you crazy, then you might want to click out now.
> 
> IIMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:
> 
> I have this story rated as mature, which means readers should be 17 years or older. With that said, no matter what your age, use your discretion before reading. Please understand that the content in this fic will be very dark at times and will address some very serious matters. Read the tags. That will give you an idea. There is currently no explicit sexual content, but that may change in the future, and if so I will change the rating to explicit and let you know in the notes of that chapter. I also give triggers warnings in the notes of individual chapters if I think there's any triggering topics. However, I'm not perfect and I may not be aware that a certain topic is a trigger for you, so just let me know if there's a specific trigger that you would like me to start including in the chapter notes. 
> 
> Furthermore, some of the characters in this story are violent, torture others, are suicidal, desire to murder someone, or desire to murder an entire race. I ABSOLUTELY DO NOT, AT ALL, CONDONE ANY OF THIS. THESE ACTIONS AND DESIRES ARE PURELY FOR THIS FICTIONAL STORY. 
> 
>  
> 
> So. You have been warned. With no further ado, let's get this shit show started. 
> 
>  
> 
>    
> ***TRIGGER WARNING***
> 
> Yes, there is already a trigger warning.
> 
> BRIEF PANIC ATTACK. MENTIONS OF BLOOD, DEATH, AND A CORPSE. 

 

 

 ~Eren~

 

The wind bit into my face as I raced through the forest, weaving in and out of the trees. All I could hear was the blood pulsing in my ears: my body straining to keep up with the fast pace I was forcing it to endure. There was a tranquil silence whenever I ran in my shifted form. Even though my heightened sense of hearing could pick up the slight sound of a cricket miles away, for some reason whenever I ran, everything went quiet and time seemed to stop. My ear flicked to the side as I picked up the sound of movement and I was brought out of my daze. Leaping over one last rock, I felt my muscles stiffen and my bones crack as I transformed back into my two-legged human form.

“Ughhh,” I groaned. Shifting was a necessary part of my life, but to be perfectly honest it hurt like a bitch. I stretched out my arms that had been covered in russet brown fur moments before. Looking around, I could see the trees part to reveal a familiar clearing where my village was located and the people were going about their daily lives. That was the sound that I had heard. I loved to zone out while running and I used the surrounding sounds to let me know where I was.

I sighed. Mikasa and Armin were sure taking their time to catch up. Well to be fair I did ditch them, but, being the awkward teenager that I was, I felt that I was justified in my antisocial tendencies. I sat on a log, not appreciating the prickly-ness against my skin, and was wishing that I had thought to bring a change of clothes when two enormous wolves emerged from the trees. The stark, white one shook its muzzle trying to get the leaves out of its fur while the larger, dark one glared at me.

“It’s about time,” I complained. “Did you guys take a nap on the way or something?” I smiled a crooked, goofy grin and hopped off my log to greet them. I heard the familiar cracking sound and suddenly the two wolves transformed into my sister and my best friend.

“Goddamnit Eren,” Mikasa chided in her usual annoyed tone. “Do you always have to just run off like that?” She started brushing off the leaves from her naked body. Even though Mikasa was my sister, I could still appreciate the lean, smooth curves of her feminine figure. Even when she was a wolf, one could see the elegant beauty that she carried herself with. The dark fur that had previously coated her wolf form had disappeared, leaving only the long dark hair of her human form. Her likewise dark eyes still glared annoyed, but softened slightly seeing that I was alright. That about summed up our relationship. Even though I would never admit it to her face, I would do pretty much anything for her.

“Yeah Eren, running isn’t really my thing and I would appreciate not having to run after you every other minute,” remarked the stick-thin blonde boy, who had moments before been a slender, white wolf. Armin didn’t get annoyed very often, but I took pride in being practically the only one that could set him off. I guess that just proved how close we really were.

I laughed and replied, “Come on Armin, running will help you get in better shape! And you’re a werewolf, how can running not be your ‘thing’?” I teased, knowing perfectly well that the bookwormy blonde would rather read his scrolls all day then take a single step outside.

“Shut up you two,” Mikasa demanded. “Come on, we’re going to be the last ones back.” She briskly started walking into the clearing where the rest of the trainees were waiting for us. I playfully punched Armin’s shoulder and then went to follow her.

“Too slow!” announced a bald, overly aggressive man. “Every single one of you filthy pups. How do you expect to protect this village if you can’t even run a few miles?” he barked at us. That was Shadis. He was a very large man with an equally large ego. He only really spoke to yell out orders at us, or to reprimand us for anything he could possibly think of.

“Come on Shadis, we were slow because you had us run 20 miles yesterday!” whined Sasha, a red haired girl who was constantly eating.

“Yeah,” Connie chipped in, Sasha’s close friend. Those two could always be seen together. Everyone knew there was something going on between them. “And we haven’t been attacked in 10 years. I doubt any ‘attacks’ are going to happen any time soon,” Connie asserted, emphasizing the word attack as if it was a rare species.

My dad’s face flashed through my mind, and suddenly I couldn’t breathe.

 _Damnit not here,_ I silently begged. I couldn’t stop the flood of images from shooting through my mind. Fire. Smoke. Blood. My dad’s lifeless form on the ground, surrounded by a sea of blood. Me, hiding behind a tree, watching the vampire that had killed my father kick his body to the side like it was a piece of trash. The sickening angel wings staring at me ironically from the back of the leather jacket that was draped over the demonic creature. Suddenly, I could breathe again and my fear was replaced with rage. I will get revenge, even if I have to kill every last vampire on the planet.

I guess my anger must have shown on my face because Mikasa leaned over to me and whispered, “Eren are you ok?”

I just brushed her aside. “I’m fine,” I snapped harshly, taking my anger out on her. I instantly felt guilty and I turned my head away, not wanting to look her in the eye. She didn’t press the matter.

“ALRIGHT TIME FOR SOME PRACTICE SPARRING!” Shadis yelled, way louder than was necessary. “Mikasa you’re with Thomas! Sasha you’re with Connie! Armin you’re with Christa! And Eren you’re with Annie!” I groaned inwardly. Besides Mikasa, Annie was the most skilled at hand to hand combat, so I was probably in for an ass-kicking. This was turning out to be a great day…

“Eren, over here,” Annie announced. Her voice sounded like she would rather be anywhere else but here. I didn’t take it personally. That was how she sounded all the time.

“Coming,” I murmured, following her hesitantly to a patch of grass near a few trees. Annie shifted, turning into a muscular, yet small, golden werewolf with a pointed snout. She looked more like a fox, which suited her sly, introverted nature. I shifted as well, my body reforming into a hulking wolf with a sleek reddish brown pelt and my emerald green eyes changing into the yellow eyes of a werewolf. Just by looking, anyone would assume that I could easily take on the petite wolf standing in front of me with no questions asked. I knew better, and sighed heavily as Annie initiated the practice match by leaping in my direction.

 _So it begins._ Generally I would dodge to the side, but Annie was so quick that she could basically change directions midair and just tackle me anyway. I knew this from experience. Instead, I mimicked her maneuver and launched directly at her, deciding that facing her head on was my best bet. To my surprise, however, she ducked under me, rolled, and then leapt at me from behind all before I had even landed. She hit me square in the back and we rolled into a heap in a nearby bush. I could feel a thorn scratch my eyebrow, and blood started dripping into my eye.

My heart was beating fast and my eyes were clouded with red from the blood. Blood…The scene of my dad lying in a pool of his own blood displayed itself across my mind again. I could feel my breathing quicken and my heart pounded heavily, bursting against my chest. As a wolf all senses are heightened, even emotions. I could feel a white rage electrify my whole body as I remembered the vampire walking away from my Dad’s dead body, the angel wings seeming to mock me. I roared and shoved Annie off of me with all my strength, sending her flying back into one of the nearby trees. She fell to the ground and shifted.

“What the hell Eren?!” Annie demanded, expecting an explanation. She didn’t seem mad though - just confused. I shifted as well, and my rage faded, quickly becoming replaced with mortification as I realized what I had done. 

“Annie, I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to…” I stammered, not really knowing how to articulate that I had just had a panic attack and had let her take the brunt of my overwhelmed emotions.

“WHAT’S GOING ON OVER HERE?!” Shadis’s loud voice boomed, echoing throughout our small village.

“Oh, I um, I accidentally…” I tried to explain. I was still a little shaken from my panic attack.

“I know what you were doing! You were slacking off!” shouted Shadis. “For that everyone has to do 100 push ups. GO!” I immediately started doing push ups, relieved for the distraction from my thoughts. I could tell Mikasa was worried about me, but I didn’t want to talk to her. She would just bring up Dad. Angel wings flashed through my mind again and continued to plague me until the end of the training.

 

***

 

“Eren! Come on! We’re about to go hunting! Ereeeeeeen!” Armin called to me from outside my house. Well I called it a house, but it was more like a shack. Since the extent of carpentry expertise in our village was slapping some wooden boards together, putting some nails in them, and calling it a “house” we all ended up with something that looked like a pile of firewood shaped like a square. I didn’t mind. I preferred spending all my time outside anyway, so when Armin gave me an opportunity to go outside, I hopped up and ran out to join him.

I had flopped on my bed and had been moping around ever since training ended. We trained every day perfecting our fighting technique in case we ever were attacked, but even I knew it was pointless. Our village was hidden in the middle of nowhere. The chances of coming across a vampire were slim to none. I should have been relieved, but I just wasn’t. I wanted to kill one. I wanted to rip it apart limb from limb and then set it on fire. I wanted to take all the hatred that had burned within me for the last 10 years and set it loose. I wanted to be free from it.

I calmed down as soon as I saw my best friend. “Hey Armin!” I greeted as I ran outside, noticing Mikasa was also there. “Hi Kasa! Do you know where Mom went?” I asked, calling her by her childhood nickname.

“Don’t call me that,” Mikasa retorted. “And she went over to visit with Armin’s grandmother.”

“Ok. Can you wait for me before you go hunting? I need to ask her something really fast.” I didn’t wait for a reply and was already running in the direction of Armin’s house/shack.

“Um well since you’re already going, sure we don’t mind at all,” Mikasa called after me sarcastically. I laughed. Mikasa always had a way of cheering me up.

I ran to the edge of the clearing where Armin’s house was located. Our village was actually quite small. It was just a circular clearing in the middle of a forest – only a 5 minute run from one end to the other.

I walked up to the very warm looking shack where Armin and his grandmother lived. His grandmother loved to decorate it with feathered dreamcatchers and flowers which actually managed to make the dreary pile of wood inviting. I just opened the door and walked in. We were basically family, and I had long since given up on the formality of knocking.

The scent of musty paper hit me as soon as I walked in. I looked around at the piles and piles of scrolls that surrounded the entire perimeter of the home. I smiled. Looking at Armin’s beloved scrolls reminded me of him. There were so many scrolls that I don't think even Armin has read them all.

“Eren!” My mom greeted me warmly from the kitchen table where she and Armin’s grandmother were sitting on. She stood up to give me hug.

“Hi Mom,” I hugged her back and took in her sweet, honey-like scent. Being with my mom was always very comforting. Just looking into her calm, brown eyes would stop my crying as a child. And her laugh was infectious. Hearing the soothing, chime of her laugh made everyone else stop what they were doing and join in with her. She didn’t laugh very much anymore, not since…I looked down trying not to think of my father. Ever since then, the light in my mother’s eyes was never quite the same.

“Hi Eren, it’s nice to see you darling.” Armin’s grandmother smiled sweetly at me, the wrinkles in her face framed her glowing eyes that seemed to smile as well.

“Hello ma’am,” I replied awkwardly. I didn't know how to interact with old people.

I turned to my mother who had sat back down on the sofa. “Hey Mom, did you move that old key of Dad’s? I took it off for training this morning but now it’s gone.” The key I was referring to was the last thing my dad gave me before he was killed. It was an old, antique key that was very skillfully made with complex, gold detail work at the top. I could tell it was from somewhere foreign – you just didn’t find this kind of metal work in any werewolf villages. I wore it on a rope around my neck, literally all the time. I only took it off for trainings, in fear that I would lose it running out in the forest. I loved tracing the design of the key with my fingers, finding comfort in the fact that I was taking care of something special that belonged to my dad - that I was protecting it for him.

“Oh yes dear, I have it,” My mom answered. “I thought you would lose it since you just threw it on the floor.” She laughed and then took it out of her pocket. She handed it to me and I instantly felt better, having the smooth metal object in my hand. She turned to Armin’s grandmother. “Teenage boys are the messiest creatures,” she teased lightheartedly.

Armin’s grandmother joined in, “Oh I know! You haven’t seen messy until you see Armin go through one of his reading sprees. Scrolls everywhere!” I laughed because that sounded just like Armin.

“And he goes through these weird phases when he reads about the strangest things,” she explained. “One time he had nightmares for weeks after reading about some skinwalker creatures.” She continued, “Apparently, when they kill a person, they take their skin and then wear it! They end up looking exactly like the person, and no one would ever tell the difference.” I was entranced. Armin’s grandmother was always the best storyteller when they we were kids and often used to read us bedtime stories.

She went on, “Apparently they’re very clever. Legend says that they can live for centuries, lurking in the shadows and tricking their enemies into killing each other off.” She laughed, “That was in some scroll about long lost myths. I personally think it’s a bunch of hinny ninny.” It sounded pretty unsettling, but then again Armin read weird things like that all the time.

Armin! I completely forgot that they were waiting for me! I said quick goodbyes and then rushed across the clearing to where Armin and Mikasa were waiting.

“The next time you make me wait 15 minutes for you, I’ll kick your ass,” Mikasa threatened intimidatingly. I responded with a sheepish smile and shifted into my wolf form. I started sprinting into the woods, excited at the chance to run. Soon, a stark white wolf and a wolf black as the night were following right behind a russet brown wolf, eyes glowing yellow in the dark.

 


	2. A Harsh Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> PTSD. NIGHTMARES. 
> 
> I've got the second chapter for you guys! Vampire werewolf au's are where it's at amiright? ;)

 

~ Eren ~

 

Steel. Looming gates of steel rising high into the sky. Lookouts on every tower. Row after row after row of soldiers. Vampire soldiers. I was standing outside the gates, looking at the biggest solid structure I had ever seen in my life. A lookout on one of the towers saw me and then suddenly there were vampires everywhere trying to kill me. I ran and ran until I was completely out of breath.

Suddenly I was in my village. Smoke stung my eyes and I could hardly see where I was going. There was fire everywhere filling my vision with flashes of angry, orange flames. I looked at my house, my heart filling with dread. My dad’s broken, dead body was strewn on the ground, soaked in his own blood. My heart raced at the morbidly familiar sight.

 _This isn’t real. This is just a dream._ My subconscious was screaming for me to wake up, but I seemed to be trapped in the confines of the memory.

I looked up and there was the vampire, dressed in solid black walking away. Walking away from the man that he had killed, changing my life forever. Angel wings mocking me…Angel wings…

“Fuck,” I whispered as I woke up from the nightmare that had tormented me ever since that day ten years ago. I looked over to see Mikasa and my Mom still sleeping peacefully. I got up quietly, trying not to wake them. I looked down and realized with annoyance that I was soaked in sweat from my nightmare. I stripped and went outside, desperate for some fresh air.

The morning air felt cool against my sweaty skin. I shifted, feeling the sharp, momentary pain as my bones cracked and readjusted into my wolf form. I started running as soon as I had shifted. I ran past all the other village houses, enjoying the quiet that occurs early in the morning when everyone else is still asleep. I breathed in the trees, the flowers, the familiar scent of my village.

Then steel gates flashes across my mind, shattering my sense of peace.

I thought back to the time I first saw those steel gates. My Dad had disappeared for a few weeks, apparently, needing to attend to some “business”. He never told me what it was, despite my constant questioning. However, when he returned he brought me a charcoal drawing of a vampire stronghold.

“Eren, swear to me that you’ll never ever go near any vampire strongholds. This is what they look like.” My dad instructed, showing me the picture. “They’re much more technologically advanced than us and there’s more vampires than you can possibly imagine - an entire army of them. If you go near one, you’re dead.” I couldn’t sleep for weeks after he told me that, but I sure as hell didn’t go looking for any vampire strongholds.

My dad didn’t tell me much about the war between vampires and werewolves. All he told me were the stories that all the werewolf cubs were told from a young age. There had been a war between vampires and werewolves for has long as anyone can remember. We had always been mortal enemies and there was a long descent of hatred throughout time to prove it.

Besides werewolves and vampire, there is also another race that resides in our world. They’re called humans. Werewolves don’t acquaint with them either since they’re allied with the vampires. They offer their blood willingly in exchange for peace between the two races. I try not to subjectify them too much since they were probably forced into the treaty, but I can’t help resenting anyone who submits to the will of vampires.

The war had been pretty even for a long time but there was eventually a turning point, and not one in werewolves’ favor. Vampires had developed weapons that almost wiped out the entire werewolf population – metal guns that shot silver bullets. That combined with the fact that vampires are immortal gave them a distinct advantage. The werewolf population was slowly diminishing and it was a very likely that we could become extinct. Our village was probably one of the last werewolf civilizations left.

After the vampires attacked my old village, the surviving werewolves relocated to our current village in a remote location where there was little chance we would be found.

“And we’re safe here,” I can remember my mother telling me. “The vampires will never find us.” Normally vampires would be able to track us with their enhanced sense of smell, but we took precautionary measures. A dark green, leafy herb with red flowers called bloodweed is able to mask the scent of blood. We ate a ton of the stuff so that the vampires couldn’t trace our blood. We also didn’t shift into our wolf forms so they couldn’t track the scent of wolf either. It was an ingenuous plan and I remembered with pride that it was my dad’s idea. My heart panged sorrowfully at the memory of my dad.

I realized that I had been all out sprinting, and my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. I shifted back into my human form with a loud crack and I fell to the ground as I was suddenly overcome by exhaustion.

“Dad…” I breathed. “oh god I miss you so much.” I fell asleep there in the comforting embrace of the forest, tears falling down my cheeks.

 

***

 

“Shit!” I woke up in a panic because I didn’t know where I was. I blinked the sun out of my eyes and then remembered falling asleep in the woods. I looked up and noticed that it was past midday. Hours had gone by…

_Mikasa is going to murder me._

I jumped up, shifted, and then started sprinting back to my village. I didn’t even get halfway there before something barreled into my side.

“Ughhh,” I groaned. I looked up to see a dark wolf giving me a glare that gave meaning to the phrase if looks could kill.

I shifted and stood up, seeing that a bruise had already started to form where she had barreled into me.

“Hey Mikasa,” I smiled sheepishly at her. The dark wolf shifted as well, revealing the furious face of my sister.

A second later, I felt a resounding slap across my cheek. I turned my head only to be slapped again.

“Eren. What. The. Fuck. Were. You. Thinking,” Mikasa seethed.

“Well, I uh- ” I started to explain.

“Shut up,” she cut me off sharply, “I don’t even want to hear it.” I could see the rage fading from her eyes, but I could still see she was upset. Hurt.

“Mikasa, I’m sorry,” I spoke sincerely, realizing how much I had scared her. “I fucked up.” She looked up at me.

“Eren, what did you think was going to happen when we woke up and saw that you weren’t there.” She took a shaky breath. “I thought you could have been taken, or killed or …” she didn’t finish.

“Eren, you and mom are all I have left.” She said seriously. “I can’t lose you too.”

“Hey Mikasa! You found him!” Armin ran over to join us. Mikasa quickly wiped away a tear and turned to Armin.

“Yup, I found my idiot brother all right.” I breathed a sigh of relief. If Mikasa was calling me names, it meant she must be feeling better. We all shifted and headed back to our village just in time for training to start.

“Eren! You’re alright!” a small blonde girl with cute features came up to me and gave me a hug.

“Hey Christa,” I said slightly startled, “Did the whole village know I was gone?”

“Pretty much,” Sasha answered for her. “We thought vamps might have found us but it’s good to know that it was just you being an idiot.”

“Oh. Um that’s good I guess,” I replied awkwardly.

“Come on you stupid pups, we have some training to do!” yelled the infamous Shadis. Everyone let out a chorus of protesting groans. I smiled, feeling a sense of normalcy for the first time in awhile. Maybe tonight, I wouldn’t have that nightmare again. Maybe I wouldn’t be reminded of the past. Maybe I wouldn’t be reminded of vampires.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's chapter 2! Sorry I know there's a lot of exposition but I promise there will be plenty of badass werewolf vs. vampire action in the future! And don't forget to comment, I would love to hear any feedback you guys may have. :)


	3. Introducing a Certain Vampire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNINGS***  
> GENOCIDAL THOUGHTS. NIGHTMARES. MENTIONS OF BLOOD, DEATH, TORTURE, AND DEAD BODIES. 
> 
> Heyyyyy! Thanks to everyone who has left kudos! Those make me smile. :) And now let's get on with chapter 3. A new character is introduced *cough cough* The one you've all been waiting for. *nudge nudge* And I think that's enough subtle hints. I'll leave ya to it. ;)

 

~ Levi ~

 

“Levi, run!” my mother screamed right before being tackled by a giant beast. It was growling and snarling as its claws ripped at her flesh. I was frozen. Frozen in fear. At the thing killing my mother right before my eyes. At a werewolf.

“Noooo! Mom!” I yelled my voice cracking. The creature didn’t even blink as it tore into her throat. I saw my mother’s life drain from her eyes and her blood pool into a gruesome puddle around her.

“No mom… please god no…” I choked out. I tried to run to her but I felt like I was moving in slow motion. Suddenly I tripped over something lying on the floor. I looked up to see glazed over eyes.

My dad’s eyes.

I woke up screaming. I looked around and realized that I was in my quarters, and the sun was just starting to set. My heart slowed and I took a deep breath.

_It was just a dream. It was just a dream.  
_

“I can kill hundreds of werewolves without blinking an eye, but a dream terrifies the shit out of me,” I muttered to myself bitterly. I sighed. These nightmares had forced me to relive the deaths of my parents practically every night since that day.

It had happened when I was a little boy, when the war was at its most violent. A pack of werewolves had attacked my town that night and one had broken into my house. Both my parents were killed before I was rescued by a vampire soldier. As I was taken from my house, I turned around in time to see the soldier shoot the beast in between its eyes. Its lifeless body fell to ground, joining the bodies of my parents. That was the last time I ever saw my parents.

Just thinking about it made my very core burn with rage. My eyes turned black and my fangs bit into my lower lip, causing a drop of blood to drip down my chin.

I was going to kill them all.

I was going to kill every last fucking werewolf mutt.

My silent vendetta was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Corporal Levi! Commander Erwin would like to see you in his office!” chirped the overly cheerful voice of Hanji. I groaned. I hated werewolves above all else but there were a certain few vampires that were pretty far up there on my hate list. Erwin was one of them.

“I’ll be right there,” I said coldly. “You can go now.”

“Yes sir!” Hanji replied even more cheerfully. She was one of those annoying people who were always somehow in a good mood.

“Oh and meet me in the dining hall afterwards. I have something to tell you!” Hanji seemed to sing with excitement. The corners of my mouth upturned slightly. It wasn’t a smile. I hadn’t smiled since my parents died. But it was pretty close, and Hanji was the only one who could get me even close to smiling.

I got up and started to get dressed into my uniform. It was nothing special. It was just the standard uniform every vampire in the military wears: tight black pants, knee high black boots, a black multi-fiber specially made shirt designed to deflect knives and werewolf fangs, and a sleek leather jacket with white angel wings on the back, the symbol identifying me as part of the Vampire Corps. Grabbing my gun, I put it in its holster at my hip and set off to see Commander Erwin.

 

***

 

“Come in.” Erwin replied to the knock on the door. With a stony composure, I walked in and sat down in the chair in front of Erwin’s desk.

“Sir.” I acknowledged him coldly. I didn’t like him and I wasn’t going to pretend that I did.

“Hello Corporal. It’s always a pleasure to see you,” Erwin said much more politely than anything I could muster up. His eyes glinted. “I have a mission for you.”

I couldn’t help but be excited. Missions usually involved killing werewolves, so I was all for it. However, I didn’t let my excitement show and with a serious expression replied, “Well, what is it?”

Erwin chuckled. “Alright alright, I’m getting there. There are signs of a werewolf pack in the North. I need you to find it and dispose of it.” His face was impassive, betraying none of his feelings on the matter. “Think you can do it?”

I raised my eyebrow and laughed. Not a joyful laugh, but a harsh, incredulous laugh. I resumed my taciturn composure. “You have no worries, sir,” I replied, a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

Erwin didn’t seem to notice. “Good. You leave tomorrow at dusk,” he said with finality. “Dismissed.”

I immediately stood up and walked briskly out of the room. God, that man irritated me. I walked down a few empty corridors to the dining hall, glad that I didn’t run into anyone. People annoyed me and I’m pretty damn sure I annoyed them. I opened the steel door and entered the dining hall, the scent of blood overpowering my senses. I saw Hanji waiting at an empty table for me. She immediately stood up and started waving at me frantically as if I couldn’t see her ten feet away. I contemplated pretending not to see her, but then thought better of it. She would just make more of a scene. I sighed, walking over to the table and sitting down two seats away from her. She jumped into the seat next to me.

“Hello there,” she chirruped. She started whistling and then seemed to remember something, “Oh here, I got you your favorite from the cafeteria.” She handed me a bottle of red liquid. “It’s B negative.” I grumbled a response and took the bottle from her. The scent of blood emanated from the bottle, and I realized just how hungry I was. I drained the container quickly and then tossed it in a nearby trash can. Hanji was staring at me the whole time as if I was some kind of unique specimen.

I scowled. “What,” I stated flatly. Her face lit up at the fact that I was actually speaking to her.

Her voice was sing-songy when she replied, “Weeeeell, I was wondering if you could do me a teensy weensy little favor.”

“No.”

“But you don’t even know what it is yet!”

“No.”

“Come on Levi, pleeeeeease. Pretty pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…”

“No.”

“But just let me…”

“No.”

Suddenly a sly look came over her face. She pretended to sound nonchalant, and went on. “That’s fine. You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Buuuuuut it has to do with werewolves.”

Damnit. She knew full well that anything related to werewolves would interest me. I let out a sigh of defeat.

“What’s the favor Hanji?”

Her face beamed with triumph. “Haha! I knew you would say yes!”

“I haven’t said yes yet Hanji.”

“Oh detail, details. You’ll say yes when you hear what it is.” I rolled my eyes and she took that as a sign to continue. “Well since you asked, it has to do with the werewolf experiments from 12 years ago. Ya know, the ones we had to discontinue after someone broke in and stole my research.” She pouted, “I’m still mad about that too.” Hanji worked as a scientist for the Vampire Corps. She tested and refined weapons while also doing research to develop new ways to kill werewolves. She used to experiment directly on werewolves, but there hadn’t been any werewolves for her to test in a long time, mainly because any vampire that came across a werewolf killed it immediately. Vampires didn’t leave prisoners.

She cleared her throat to get my attention as I had tuned out her voice: a common occurrence whenever I was around Hanji.

“Anyways as I was saying, I wanted to restart those experiments and I was wondering if you could pick me up a werewolf test subject or two while you’re out on your mission tonight?”

I pondered her request for a moment. The very thought of letting one of the mangy beasts live disgusted me. However, if it was going to be Hanji’s test subject that meant it would have to suffer through Hanji’s experiments that were most likely excruciating.

Hanji looked at me curiously. “So how does that sound? Will you do it?”

I pictured the werewolf that killed my parents screeching in agony.

“It sounds perfect.”

 

~ Eren ~

 

I darted to the side, barely escaping the powerful jaws of a white speckled werewolf, teeth gleaming in the daylight. I quickly shifted my balance to my hind legs, allowing me to leap and counter her attack. I hit her in the shoulder causing her to lose her balance, and a second later I had her pinned, my jaw inches from her throat. Instead of dealing the death blow however, I nudged her playfully and rolled over onto my side. I shifted back into my human form, casting a triumphant look at the speckled wolf. A second later, the speckled wolf had transformed into Christa.

“Aw dangit Eren, I thought I had you that time,” Christa chirped in her high pitched voice. Her usual cheerfulness was dulled slightly by her defeat.

“Yup well I guess I was just too quick for ya,” I teased, hoping to cheer her up a little bit. Christa was a small, thin girl with a kind face. Everyone felt a need to protect her, even me. We also hated to see her sad. Seeing that kind face distort with sadness seemed to go against every fiber of my being. Her giggle interrupted my thoughts.

“Yeah Eren, you did really well! When did you get that good?” Christa inquired. I thought back to my countless wresting matches with Mikasa, all of which I had lost.

“He’s had practice losing to me,” Mikasa jumped in with a laugh.

“Hey! I’ve gotten better since then!” I tried to defend myself, unsuccessfully, but I couldn’t help laughing along with Mikasa. She was a lot like our mother in that way. You couldn’t help but join in with her infectious laugh. Mikasa didn’t laugh very often though, so today was a rare occurrence.

 _Everyone seems to be in a good mood today,_ I thought as the sun shone brilliantly over the green pasture that we were training in. Shadis decided a change of scenery might help us focus on our training better. Everyone was glad to take a break from our normal training in the forest and in the village.

“Alright alright, whose next?” demanded Shadis in his aggressive tone, but even he didn’t seem to be as aggressive as normal. Me and Christa gave each other a quick nuzzle, the appropriate gesture to show good sportsmanship after a match, and then we sat in the grass with the other trainees.

“Oh I love grass!” Sasha moaned as she rolled around in the blissful green plant. It was true, most werewolves had a thing about grass. I followed suit and started rolling around in the grass. Pretty soon everyone was rolling around in the grass, bumping into each other and laughing hysterically. Even Shadis seemed to be turning a blind eye, allowing us to take a break for a moment and just enjoy the day.

I looked affectionately over at Armin who had curled up in the grass and seemed to be taking extreme interest in a ladybug crawling on a daisy. I glanced over at Mikasa and I could tell by the mischievous glint in her eye that we both had the same idea. We both started to creep up behind him and then…

“Gotcha!” we both shouted as we pounced on him and started tickling him without mercy. Mikasa and I loved to tickle Armin whenever we got the chance because he has the greatest laugh. When you tickle him in just the right spot, he snorts and laughs so hard that he makes this high pitched whistling sound. He started doing it just now and everyone was cracking up at the sounds he was making. I grinned, a wide ear to ear grin, and proceeded to tickle my best friend.

 

***

 

“Eren I’m going to kill you if you ever do that again!” Armin threatened, but he smiled, so I knew he had just as much fun as I did.

“I make no promises.” I stuck my tongue out at him. “Race ya!” I shouted as I started running towards Armin’s house. Training had ended early that day so Mikasa agreed to work with Christa on her sparring skills, and Armin and I were going to go back to his house. He wanted to show me something apparently.

“Hey no fair! You’re faster than me!” Armin called after me. I made it to his house first, and collapsed on the ground, not from exhaustion but because I knew that’s what Armin was going to do as soon as he caught up with me. I looked up at the setting sun while I waited. I loved this time of day, when the sky turns a brilliant shade of orange and the trees cast long sloping shadows on the ground. It was so peaceful.

My thoughts were interrupted by a panting Armin that had just collapsed next to me.

“I – I’m – I’m gonna kill you.” Armin choked out, gasping for breath.

“Yeah, well let’s make sure you don’t suffocate first,” I teased and waited for him to catch his breath. A few minutes later, Armin face lit up with excitement as he remembered why we were there.

“Come on Eren!” Armin beckoned me, unable to contain his excitement as he swung the door open to his cottage.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” I assured him, amused at how excited he was. Even though we weren’t related, Armin was like my brother. I felt an innate need to protect him and watch over him. I guess that’s maybe how Mikasa felt about me. The three of us were a family, and I felt on overwhelming sense of love for the little blonde-haired boy in front of me digging through his scrolls.

“This is it!” Armin opened up a faded, yellow scroll and was pointing furiously at a picture. “Look Eren!” I bent down to look at the picture he was trying to show me, and all I could see was a big blue splotch.

“It’s a blue blob,” I determined.

“No it’s called the ocean,” Armin said pointing at the word ocean. “It’s a huge body of water found on the coast filled with salt! Can you believe that!” Armin looked up at me to see my reaction.

“Wow that sounds cool,” I agreed.

Armin smiled dreamily. “I want to go there so bad.” His smile turned to a frown. “I guess it’s not safe. The vampires have probably already taken over all the oceans by now.” He looked so sad, and that was NOT ok with me. I sat down next to him and put my arm around him so that he was leaning against me. He looked up a little shocked because I didn’t usually express my affection that much. Big surprise there.

“Don’t worry Armin.” I smiled down at him, as he was significantly shorter than me. “I swear to you, I’m going to kill every last vampire.” I meant it. It was so unfair that a beautiful person like Armin had to live in a terrible world like this. I thought of his pure, blue eyes and his innocent smile. I would do anything for him and if that meant killing every last vampire so that he could see the ocean, then that was exactly what I was going to do. 

"And then we can move our village near the ocean so you can go there whenever you want.” I poked his nose. “Sound like a plan?”

Armin grinned, “That sounds perfect!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was kind of a longer chapter so hopefully I didn't just kill your eyes. Nah who am I kidding, I know you're all like me and read fanfic 24/7. :D :D :D Anyways, I hope you enjoyed seeing the lovely Levi in this chapter, I know I did ;)


	4. The Attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> THERE IS A MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH IN THIS CHAPTER. THERE IS JUST A LOT OF DEATH IN GENERAL. THERE IS ALSO GRAPHIC DEPICTIONS OF BLOOD AND VIOLENCE INCLUDING USAGE OF GUNS. DESCRIPTION OF CORPSES. 
> 
> If you are comfortable with the previously mentioned warnings, then read on! There will be plenty of action in this chapter, so it's a big change from the other chapters. Hope you like it!

 

~ Levi ~

 

The night was silent. The only sound that could be heard was the steady beat of ours horses’ hooves striking the dirt path that we were following. We had been traveling for a few hours now in complete silence. We were given strict orders not to utter a single word. We didn’t want the enemy to have any sign of our presence before we could effectively eliminate them, which was generally not a problem. Vampires excelled at stealth missions. Usually our enemies were dead before they even had a chance to realize they were being attacked. I smiled, knowing that this mission would be no different.

I glanced to my side to see Petra Ral, almost invisible in her dark uniform except for her stark orange hair unable to be masked by the shadows of the night. She was a member of the special operations squad that I was in charge of. We received stealth missions, almost always involving werewolves. Now that most of the werewolf societies had been destroyed, we were responsible for the few that were left. I shuddered, feeling uneasy that there were still more out there.

 _Well at least I’ll be able to reduce that number tonight_ , I thought to myself looking forward to the chance of slaughtering a few werewolves. I looked back over at Petra, glad to know she was a member of my team. I had met her a few years ago, and at first glance I was skeptical of her abilities. She was a petite girl, with a kind face - a face that one would think couldn’t hurt a fly. After a few missions with her effectively taking the lives as almost as many werewolves as me, I knew better. She enjoyed this as much as I did. Most vampires had some kind of history with werewolves, and it was always brutal. I figured that something must have tainted the kind girl’s outlook on werewolves, otherwise I don’t think she would be here riding alongside me. Every soldier here had a reason for being here, and I think our common hatred of werewolves was the reason why we were picked for this team.

To my other side was Eld Jinn looking serious as always as he rode in silence. I think that’s one reason why me and Eld got along so well. We didn’t really talk much. I’ve probably spoken a total of 10 words to the guy, but we both knew we would die to defend each other in battle

Covering our flank was Oluo Bozado and Gunther Schulz. Me and Oluo… well personally I thought he was an arrogant son of a bitch. However, I couldn’t deny his evidently adept skill to wipe out a vast number of werewolves in a blink of an eye, and that earned him my respect. The dark haired man on the other side of Oluo, completely invisible in the dark of the night, was Gunther. Gunther, being the logical one, was good to have in a tight situation.

I cared about every member of my team, even though I would hardly ever admit it. The only aspect of werewolf hunting that dulled my enjoyment of it was the fear that someone in my squad would get hurt. I blinked, clearing the concern from my mind, knowing that each and every one of them was a skilled fighter during combat. I needed to focus on the matter at hand.

Looking around, I observed we were in a heavily condensed forest, filled with trees reaching high into the sky. Their branches formed a sort of canopy, completely blanketing us in darkness.

 _Good_ , I thought. They’ll never see us coming. I held my hand up to signal that we should start slowing down and keep an eye out for signs of werewolves. Our source informed us that he had sighted werewolves near this area under the thick canopy of trees. Our source, Erwin told me, was a botanist. Apparently, he was in this area searching for rare plants when he heard a sound. He just managed to hide behind a bush moments before a few werewolves raced by. I grimaced. A few werewolves meant there was probably a pack somewhere nearby.

I stopped my horse and the rest of my team followed suit. I leapt off my horse with a graceful arching motion, and immediately started heading in the direction of bent underbrush, most likely trampled by werewolves. I didn’t need to glance behind me to verify that my team was there. I knew that they would follow me wherever I led them. 

I crouched low to the ground, moving quickly and silently, my years of experience evident in the effortless way my body moved over the grassy, uneven terrain. This was what I was trained. I was a refined killing machine.

Looking up at the sky, I noticed that we only had a few more hours before sunrise which meant that we didn’t have much time. I picked up the pace, and felt a wave of excitement course through me as an opening to a large clearing came into view.

 

~ Eren ~

 

I woke up gasping for air. I sighed and rubbed my eyes, trying to block the image of my dad’s mangled body from my mind. I glanced over at my Mom and Mikasa still sleeping peacefully. Wiping my forehead, I noticed I was dripping with sweat. I desperately needed fresh, cool air. Taking care not to wake up Mom or Mikasa, I quietly stepped outside.

The sky was a deep black, informing me that there were still a few hours left before sunrise. My body ached to run, but my mind flashed back to the other day when I fell asleep in the woods.

 _I can’t be gone for long_ , I reminded myself. I didn't want Mikasa to worry about me again.

With the intention of only going on a short run, I shifted and ran off into the night.

As soon as I was sprinting through the forest, I immediately felt better. Running always helped me calm down. I found comfort in the repetitive motion of the activity, of using my muscles to the point of exhaustion. It helped to distract me from the imprinted image in my mind of my Dad, broken and bloody, and of those angel wings mocking me from their perch on a leather jacket. I instinctively started growling. Shaking my head, I tried to clear my mind and let the darkness of the night consume me.

 

***

 

I don’t remember how long I was running, but I came to a dead stop after I heard a sound. It was probably just an animal scurrying around somewhere in the forest, but being the paranoid person that I am, I decided to check it out. I crept forward cautiously, my teeth bared just in case. Peering around a tree, I saw the source of the sound and I immediately relaxed. It was just a few horses. I was about to turn away and continue running, when I saw something.

 _Wait…_ I got a little closer and saw that these weren’t just wild horses. They had saddles, and were tied to nearby trees.

Where were their riders?

My body filled with adrenaline and I was sprinting faster than I ever have before back to my village. My home.

 _They’re in danger,_ I thought with terror. I recalled the image of my Mom and Mikasa earlier that day, sleeping peacefully at home. Then I thought of my Dad lying in a puddle of blood joined by my mom and Mikasa as cold and lifeless as him. I pictured the life draining from Armin’s pure blue eyes.

I howled. A loud, desperate sound. Hoping that I could save them in time. Hoping that they were still alive. Hoping that I wasn’t too late…

Angel wings flashed through my mind and I started running even faster.

 

~ Mikasa ~

 

I woke up to the sound of screaming.

“What the hell is going on,” I muttered. I sat up and looked over to see if Eren was awake.

He was gone.

My heart started racing as it always does when I think something has happened to Eren.

I shook my mom awake and ran outside.

“Eren!” I shouted, starting to go into complete panic mode. “Eren!” My eyes widened as I saw Sasha lying on the ground, eyes staring blankly at me.

 _What…_ I stepped in something sticky. Looking down I realized I was standing in a huge puddle of blood.

I screamed, and taking a step backwards I slipped, coating myself in my friend’s blood.

_This can’t be happening._

“Eld, there’s one over there,” a cold voice commanded. I looked up to see a pale, blonde man walking towards me. He was carrying a gun. I had shifted before I even knew what I was doing, and launched myself at the man, my rage at Sasha’s death hitting me like a physical blow.

I aimed for this throat, but he was too fast and dodged my attack catching me in the side with a knife.

I growled as blood dripped down my flank. The pain sent a rush of adrenaline through me, heightening my senses. I turned around, ready to leap at my attacker, but he had already regained his balance and was aiming a gun at me. I barely had enough time to throw myself to the side before I heard a gun fire, the bullet barely grazing my shoulder. I skid to the side, slipping in the blood again.

 _Damnit._ The vast amount of blood on the ground was hindering my movements and I knew it was only a matter of time before this vampire killed me.

I snarled and, putting all my weight on my haunches, jumped at the blonde vampire, this time aiming for his chest. I caught him off guard as he was expecting me to go for his throat again and I managed to knock him over. I didn’t wait for him to regain his balance. I started sprinting into the direction of Armin’s house.

 _Please be alive,_ I prayed.

There was chaos all around me. Guns fired. Dead werewolf bodies surrounded me, and all I could see everywhere I looked was blood. So much blood.

I crashed through Armin’s door, not even bothering to shift into my human from to open the door. At first I thought he wasn’t there. I was just about to leave when my eyes caught sight of a shape in the corner.

I ran over to Armin’s bed and there lying underneath the covers was Armin. It almost looked like he could be asleep. His eyes were still closed and he had that cute little look on his face when he slept. My eyes looked down to see his blood stained shirt, and the bullet wound right over his heart.

 _No. Not Armin. No, oh god no._ I nuzzled my face against his cheek, hoping I would wake him up. He couldn't be dead. I whimpered collapsing on the bed, wrapping my paws protectively over his small body.

 _No Armin please wake up. Please. Don’t be dead._ Tears were falling down my face, and I started to make choking sob noises in the back of my throat. I closed my eyes and remembered the day before, when me and Eren tickled Armin until he made that high pitched, whistling noise that he does when he laughs. He actually started crying he was laughing so hard. I thought of his beautiful, stark white fur coat that he had when he shifted. It was so pure, just like him. I wanted to protect that purity, that innocence.

And I failed.

I couldn’t protect him. I let him die. My best friend in the whole world was dead. My eyes glinted with rage.

_They will pay._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry... I know I'm a terrible person. I will make it up to you with lots of ereri in the future! :) Thanks for reading! :D


	5. Blood-Red Sunrise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> THERE IS A GRAPHIC DEATH AND MORE BLOOD IN THIS CHAPTER
> 
> And so the chaos continues.

 

~ Levi ~

 

My gun fired, and the white speckled wolf fell to the ground convulsing in pain.

I felt a sense of pride rush through me at the sight of my defeated enemy. Just as I was about to kill it I thought back to how Hanji didn’t have any test subjects. I motioned to Gunther, “Grab this one and sedate it. We’re taking it back with us,” I commanded. I was slightly disappointed. I wanted to kill it, but I knew that killing its pack and condemning it to a life in captivity would have to do. I looked around. I think that was the last one. I counted the dead werewolf bodies.

23.

This was the biggest pack I had ever come across. They usually had about 5-10 werewolves in a pack, so this pack must have had a long time to grow and reproduce. I felt a sense of shame. I should have killed them a long time ago. I sighed cleaning off the specks of blood that had gotten on my gun.

My head darted to the side as I heard a sound to my right. It was coming from one of the werewolf houses. I immediately went into combat mode and raced over to the house, exhilarated at the thought of killing another werewolf. Scanning the house, I saw that the door was already broken down. I readied my gun and quickly stepped over the debris that had been the door.

I saw that this was the house where I had killed the old lady werewolf and a little, blonde werewolf boy. I heard a growl and I looked over to see another werewolf, with pitch black fur, glaring at me with hatred in its yellow eyes. It was standing over the boy, in a protective stance and suddenly it was leaping at me, clearing the entire room in one jump and almost knocking me to the ground. I quickly stepped to the side, effectively dodging its attack and aimed my gun at its head. It looked up at me.

And I noticed that it had tears in its eyes. I stepped back, somewhat shocked by the humanism in my enemy and I hesitated just long enough for it to initiate another attack.

 _Shit,_  I thought as I clumsily rolled to the side, annoyed that I had hesitated. I wasn’t quick enough and it managed to slice its claws down my leg.

I grunted in pain, and fell to the ground. Fury swept through me. Quick as lightning, I rolled on my back and lifted my gun ready to shoot it to hell.

But it was already unconscious. I looked up to see Oluo standing in the doorway, pointing a tranquilizer at the beast.

“Thought you could use a little help there, sir,” Oluo chuckled, giddy that he had managed to catch a glimpse of me in a moment of weakness.

“I didn’t need your help,” I replied icily. “I was just about to kill the thing.”

He looked at me skeptically. “Of course sir, I didn’t realize.” I rolled my eyes.

“Whatever, just grab the mutt.” I point in the direction of the sedated werewolf, who had now transformed into a human after going unconscious. She was a pale girl, with dark hair. She was obviously very beautiful, but I didn’t really care much about things like that. She could almost pass for a vampire, except that she was the farthest thing from it. She was a mangy, barbaric werewolf.

“We’re taking this one back for questioning.” I thought about how many werewolves were in this pack. I looked back at the girl again. She must know the location of other werewolf packs.

My leg suddenly pulsed with pain and I grimaced at the claw marks that the girl werewolf had sliced into my skin, my thick, crimson vampire blood slowly dripping down my leg. I couldn’t wait until every single one of those filthy mutts was dead. Without another word, I turned and walked out of the house, letting Oluo carry the girl by himself.

I stepped outside only to come across yet another werewolf.

“How many of these fucking things are there?!”

 

~ Eren ~

 

I came to a stop at the entrance of my village. Of what used to be my village. I took in the scene around me. There were bodies everywhere. My friends’ bodies were strewn carelessly on the ground, bloodied and mutilated. My mind unwillingly flashed back to the night of my father’s death 10 years ago. I remember seeing him lifeless in a puddle of his own blood.

This was on ocean. The field of green grass had been stained red with blood. Our houses had been painted red with blood. Even the sky seemed to be seeping with blood, as the sun was just beginning to rise, casting a red-like glow over the carnage.

My body was exhausted from pushing it to its limit, and I could no longer maintain my shifted from. I shifted into a human and fell to my knees, disbelieving what I was seeing.

Everything I had known my whole life was taken from me, just like that. Everything I loved was taken from me in one morning. I looked over the scene, numbly. Those couldn’t be my friends lying motionlessly on the ground, ripped apart by bullets. That wasn’t them. This was some other world, and those were some other werewolves. This wasn’t my village. My village was probably just waking up, about to get ready for another peaceful day. Mikasa would call me an idiot and Mom would laugh, her beautiful song-like laugh. We would go to trainings just like every other day. And everyone would be there. We would live our peaceful lives just like we always had.

My mind went blank as I saw my mother’s still form lying in the grass a few feet away.

“Mom,” I whispered. I couldn’t get up, but I crawled over to where she was lying.

“Mom, wake up. Please mom. Don’t be dead,” I said barely audible. I knew she couldn’t respond. “Not you too, Mom. Please. Not you and Dad.” I sobbed and didn’t realized I had been crying until I saw tears falling onto my mother’s face as I leaned over her limp body. I pushed a strand of her soft hair out of her beautiful brown eyes. They had glazed over and were staring blankly past me.

“Mom!” I cried, hugging her lifeless body, breathing in her sweet, honey scent that was now mixed with blood. Her skin was no longer warm to the touch and I reflexively wanted to go fetch a blanket so that she wouldn’t be cold. I shut my eyes, feeling physically ill that my Mom would never be cold or warm again. She would never feel anything again.

Mom, don’t go. Don’t leave me here.” I pleaded desperately, hoping she would just wake up and tell me everything was all right and that she was still alive. Her blank eyes just stared back at me expressionless. “Please Mom. You can’t go. I love you.” My voice caught in my throat, and I buried my face in her hair, sobbing uncontrollably, my hands shaking as I stroked her stone cold face. I didn’t stop until I remembered something.

 _Mikasa. Armin._ I had to see if they were alright. My legs were still shaky, but I managed to stand up and started limping through the blood stained grass.

I froze as I saw a vampire girl with red hair walk out of Annie’s house. She was wearing the same black leather jacket. The same one that the vampire who murdered my dad gad been wearing years ago. I stared at the angel wings emblem, the pale wings contrasting greatly with the black leather of her jacket. I didn’t have much energy left, but adrenaline started to pump through my body, and I could feel my rage explode all in the matter of one second.

_Die._

I shifted and was already racing towards her, fangs bared and ready to kill. My anger was multiplying by the second, and it was all directed at that red haired vampire. By the time she saw me it was too late. I had already ripped her throat out, her blood staining my reddish brown fur an even deeper red. I didn’t even look to see if she was dead. I knew she was. And I was glad.

“How many of these fucking things are there!” I turned to see another vampire, the one that had spoken, walking out of Armin’s house. He was wearing the same black leather outfit, and I was willing to bet that he also had those same damn angel wings on the back of his jacket.

He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the vampire lying motionless next to me. He looked completely shell-shocked for a few moments, before turning to look at me. In a second his face had gone from shock to savage ferocity.

In that moment, I saw my own hatred reflected in his eyes.

We just stared at each other for a few seconds and I had a moment to examine my enemy. He had short black hair, shaved at the bottom while the top was neatly slicked back to keep it out of his eyes in a very sleek hairstyle. He had a thin, cruel face with arching cheekbones and long lashes forming a dark frame around his light grey eyes. I could tell that he was probably extremely handsome, if it wasn’t for the fact that I wanted to tear him to pieces with my claws.

I thought of my mom’s lifeless body lying in the bloodied grass. With that image blazing in my mind I darted forward growling fiercely, my loud battlecry ringing in my ears as I rushed toward my enemy. The vampire seemed to instantaneously transport across the field, causing me to falter. His eyes seemed to stare directly into me soul, studying me, as if he could learn everything there was to know about me with just a glance. I hesitated slightly before charging forward even faster than I had before.

 _This is for you mom_ , I thought right before pushing off the ground and flying through the air towards the vampire, who was advancing towards me quicker by the second. I saw the sun beginning to rise, casting light over the village clearing and causing the blood to sparkle grotesquely. Mere milliseconds from crashing head on, I was shocked to see that the vampire had vanished in a blur of motion. I landed clumsily, not expecting to end up on the ground and blinked a few times.

 _What the hell…_ I looked around realizing that all the vampires had just suddenly disappeared. I blinked the sun out of my eyes. It must have been the sunrise that scared them off. I chuckled to myself. Suddenly I couldn’t stop laughing. A wave of hysteria swept over me, and I fell to the ground in a fit of laughter.

Those vampires had snuck into my village in the middle of the night and slaughtered everyone that I loved. Yet, they jet off in a blink of an eye in fear of a few UV rays. I laughed and laughed and laughed, until my stomach ached from the effort. I laughed, a maniacal laugh, until I started crying. Everyone was gone. Dead. And I was standing in the middle of my dead, broken village, all the life sucked away. All that was left was an empty shell.

My laughter ceased and I just sat there, quietly. I could feel my sanity slipping away, leaving my body an empty shell like my village. Eren was dead. I had died as soon as my beloved village was brutally massacred. This was a new Eren. This Eren’s entire life purpose was revenge. This Eren was going to get revenge for the deaths of his beautiful family and his beautiful friends and his beautiful village. This sin was not going to be unpunished. I sat there staring at the blood red sunrise, dreaming of retribution.

 

***

 

Several hours later, I had lined up all the dead bodies with a blank expression on my face. All my feelings had just disappeared about halfway through the process of dragging the dead bodies of my pack in a morbidly long line, reminding me just how many people had died. I wanted to give them a proper burial, even if it was the last thing I ever did.

I thought back to the cold grey eyes of the vampire. He would probably be back at nightfall. Judging from his reaction to the red haired girl that I killed, he probably wanted me to dead just as much as I wanted him dead.

I looked over at her body, lined up with the rest of my village. I quickly turned my head away, guilt flooding through me. She looked so young.

I took a deep breath, reminding myself that she was a vampire, and started walking in the direction of the last house that I hadn’t checked. I had saved that house for last, dreading what I would find there. I had found the bodies of everyone except Mikasa, Armin, Armin’s grandmother and Christa.

I stepped over the rubble that had been the door to Armin’s house, feeling despair that the house Armin’s grandmother took so much pride in had been wrecked. I walked in expecting to see a bloodbath. Closing my eyes, I decided to let myself hesitate a moment longer, trying to postpone the inevitable as long as possible.

I opened my eyes.

And I couldn’t see a single body. My brow furrowed in confusion before my eyes focused on Armin’s bed. There was a slight raise in the blankets, where one could see that a tiny little person was laying underneath. I walked over to the bed and looked at the face of the person lying there, knowing exactly what I was about to see. My eyes filled with tears.

_God, I hated being right_

I stared at the blonde haired, blue eyed boy in front of me. I knew he was dead as soon as I saw his expressionless face, no longer animated with the happiness and liveliness of the boy that I had known. I stared, only able to think one thing.

 _That is my brother lying there, dead._ He may not have been my brother by genetics, but he was my brother all the same. I could feel a piece of my heart being torn away. A piece that I would never be able to recover now that the geeky, quirky, passionate boy I had known my whole life was no longer here with me. I looked around at Armin’s beloved scrolls scattered all over the floor, some stained brown with dried blood. The one he had shown me the other day caught my eye, thrown carelessly on the ground with the picture of the blue ocean still visible. The picture of the ocean was a brilliant blue, just like Armin’s eyes. It had faded slightly with age, and my heart wrenched at the thought that Armin wouldn’t be able to live to an old age.

 _That scroll had probably been alive longer than Armin,_ I thought with disgust. He would never be able to visit the ocean. I promised him, swore to him, that I would take him there one day. He was such an adventurous spirit, and he was stuck in this village his entire life. It was enough for people like me and Mikasa, but Armin wanted to travel the world, visit the ocean, and go to the places he only was able to read about in his scrolls.

We were forced into hiding because of the vampires. A beautiful person like Armin had to be stifled with the same setting and the same people every day and it was all because of those gruesome, bloodsucking creatures. I thought about his snowy white pelt that would seem to sparkle in the daylight, astonishingly resembling a ray of light. That ray of light was now snuffed out, leaving the world a darker place than it had been before.

I picked up his frail body, weighing next to nothing with his thin layering of muscle. I smiled as I remembered how much he had hated physical activity. He would still go running with me though, because he knew how much I loved to run. He was the kindest person that I knew. He didn’t have a single malicious bone in his body, and he even had trouble hating vampires. It didn't matter. They had killed him anyway.

My only relief was that I knew he was going to a better place. No matter how much I wished, more than anything, that he was still here with me I knew that now he didn’t have to live in a world of hatred anymore.

 _I hope wherever you are, you can swim in all the oceans you want_ , I prayed silently hoping that he could hear me. I set his small body next to the red haired vampire girl, and he looked almost child-like laying there in the grass.

 _Goodbye brother._ My eyes had gone dry, no longer having anymore tears to shed. With that, I turned around to retrieve the rest of the bodies, and I didn’t look back.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I'm sorry for all the blood and death...But hey Levi and Eren met for the first time so there's the silver lining! It wasn't the best way to meet your soul mate but hey we can't all be perfect.


	6. Goodbyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this craziness? Am I actually updating this story? Haha sorry everyone, I was suffering from the awful disease known as writer's block for the past few weeks but I have been cured! Here is the next chapter for all you wonderful, patient people.

 

~ Levi ~

 

I desperately wanted to kill the werewolf racing towards me. I needed to like I needed blood to survive

Suddenly I could feel the rising sun start to burn my flesh, and beneath my rage, my sense of reason was telling me that this encounter couldn’t happen now. With an extreme quantity of self control, I tore myself away from the fight and quickly darted into the safety of the trees, leaving the werewolf to stand there confused at the sudden disappearance of his enemy.

This was not over. I would hunt down that werewolf, no matter how long it took. I thought of Petra’s mangled body, lying at the feet of the brown beast, the image replaying itself over and over in my mind.

_What could I have done differently? What could I have changed so that it hadn’t turned out like this?_

My horse rampaged through the forest, as I forced it to go faster and faster. I didn’t care if I was being loud and I didn’t give a single fuck if anyone heard me. The mission had already failed. One of our own had died, and that was a failure in my mind. She was my responsibility as her leader. She had died under my watch and I knew that no matter how many centuries that I lived I would never be able forgive myself.

I could almost physically feel the barrier that I put up to keep myself from getting attached to others thicken. I had lost countless friends in this war, and at some point I had forced myself to care about others as little as possible. They almost always ended up dead. I went through the list in my mind of all the names of vampires that I knew of that had died in this war. I went over it every day, making sure that their names would always be remembered and that their sacrifice didn’t go unforgotten.

I lit a match and tossed it over my shoulder, setting the forest aflame as I added the name Petra Ral to the list.

 

~ Eren ~

 

I suppressed my gag relfex as smoke filled my lungs, burning my throat. Despite my body’s yearning to go somewhere with breathable air I was inexplicably rooted to the spot. I watched the fire rage on, tears filling my eyes as the scorching heat intensified. I still couldn’t move.

My village was burning down to the ground, the fire spreading throughout the large clearing that I had lived in my whole life. As the light from the fire burned into my retinas, I knew that this moment would be engraved in my mind for the rest of my life. The last memory that I would ever have of my home, would be accompanied by the ravaging hand of a fire as it burned my village to nothing but a pile of ashes.

I had buried the members of my pack in enclave of trees near my village. There was a gap in the canopy of trees so that during the day, a wide circle of light was cast down upon the area. It had been a frequent hang out spot for me, Mikasa, and Armin when we wanted a calm environment to rest. I had chosen the place in the hopes that my pack members could rest there in peace.

I buried Armin and my mother in an area apart from the others. Armin was buried next to his favorite tree where he used to spend hours reading his scrolls. I had buried his scrolls with him in the hope that maybe he could still read them wherever he was now. Closeby in a patch of honeysuckles flowers, I had buried my mom in honor of her sweet honey scent.

I allowed myself to stare upon the destruction for a few more moments, before turning around and racing into the forest.

I didn’t have time to wallow in despair. I had found everyone’s body except Christa’s and Mikasa’s. I didn’t even let myself consider the possibility that they were dead. They must have been kidnapped by the vampires. They _had_ to still be alive. My entire world was being torn apart around me and the chance that they were still alive was the only thing keeping my fragile sanity from slipping away completely.

The only lead I had for Mikasa and Chirsta’s whereabouts was the vampire scent still lingering in the air. I sniffed as I felt a breeze ruffle my fur and rustle the branches of some nearby trees. Vampires had a very mellow smell and I thought of it like the mild fragrance of autumn leaves. It would have almost smelled nice except for the fact that it was tainted with a harsh hint of iron, probably due to their diet of blood. I sniffed again, my sharp sense of smell picking up the fading aroma, and I began to follow the vampire’s trail.

 

~ Levi ~

 

The canopy of the trees ended and I signaled my team to come to a halt. We couldn’t progress forward until nightfall, when the scorching daylight could be replaced by the darkness of the night.

I sighed and took a small radio out of my pocket.

Turning my radio on, I dialed Erwin and waited for him to connect. When I heard a beep I knew that he had answered.

“How does the red falcon fly in the North?” I heard Erwin’s husky voice ask. I instantly recognized the security question that I had been given before leaving for the mission. If the person that radioed in didn’t respond with the correct answer, Erwin would know that something was wrong and would send in reinforcements. It was a cautionary procedure.

I scowled, unamused at the ridiculous security question Erwin had come up with. I think he prided himself in coming up with the most obscure questions he could possibly think of. In a completely monotone voice, I replied with, “It flies with the wings of freedom. Ca-caw. Ca-caw. Ca-caw.” I rolled my eyes. I knew Erwin just made that up because he wanted to hear me do bird sounds. I didn’t want to give him the pleasure, and said the “Ca-caws” in the most un-bird like voice I could manage.

I heard a chuckle come from the radio. “You really need to work on your bird sounds Ackerman,” he commented, addressing me by my last name. I rolled my eyes again.

“I told you not to call me that, Erwin,” I reiterated for what seemed like the hundredth time. He knew that I hated to be called that, and I didn’t cease to remind him whenever he did. I was already in a bad mood, and I was starting to get really pissed off.

“Could you focus for like 2 seconds, please,” I hissed into the radio. He just chuckled again.

“Alright, alright I’m listening. Do you need something?” Erwin replied cheerfully, not thrown of by my aggressive tone.

“Well, I wasn’t calling just for the pleasure of your company sir,” I remarked sarcastically. My voice lowered, becoming serious, and I continued “We didn’t make it back in time before the sun rose so I need the location of the nearest military base so that we can recuperate until nightfall.”

I wasn’t referring to myself. The wound on my leg had practically almost healed. Vampires had an exceptional ability to heal, and since I was a fairly old vampire, my healing abilities were even more superior. However, I could tell a few members of my team were struggling. Eld was looking rather pale and was holding his hand to his chest where I could see that the sharp claws of a werewolf had broken through the material of his shirt. So much for that special micro fiber shit. I could see the dark red vampire blood dripping down his arm. Oluo and Gunther weren’t doing much better.

“Hold on. I need to access your current location and then I’ll give you directions to the nearest military base,” Erwin informed me. I didn’t reply, and tapped my fingers against a nearby tree trunk as I waited.

He came back online, “There should be one 2 km southeast from the direction you are currently heading. It’s a smaller base, so supplies will be fairly limited”

I groaned. “Good enough.” I hung up without waiting for a response and motioned for my team to start heading in the direction of the base.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided this story needed a tad bit of comedic relief so my solution - Levi making bird sounds!


	7. A Dance with Death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> THERE IS USAGE OF GUNS, DESCRIPTION OF A GUNSHOT WOUND, VIOLENCE, DEATH AND GENERAL FEELINGS OF HOPELESSNESS
> 
> "There's no way," you say. "There's no way she's posting two chapters in one day. The Earth would explode and the human race would cease to exist before that ever happened," you say. Yeah I feel really bad about procrastinating so much on this story (my ultimate downfall will be procrastination) so this is my apology.

 

~ Eren ~

 

_I’m hurrying Mikasa, Please be alive._

I had been following the vampire trail for several hours now. I tried to see if I could detect Mikasa’s scent to verify that she was taken by the vampires, but I just couldn’t tell. All I could smell was vampire, and even then I could barely pick up that. Their trail was several hours old, so the scents were mixing in with the surrounding environment, making them nearly impossible to track.

 _Damnit._ I tried not to think about what that implied. She had to be with them. She had to be alive. Christa’s kind face flashed through my mind, and I prayed that she was also alive and well.

 

***

 

It was a few hours past nightfall by the time I came across a small, vampire camp. I crouched behind a bush, in my wolf form hoping that my dark brown fur would blend in with the darkness of the night. I could make out a building, modest in size, which I assumed must be a vampire infantry base. I closed my eyes and let my most keen sense - my sense of smell - take over. I could pick up faint traces of vampire and werewolf.

_They had been here!_

I closed my eyes again. Their scent was a few hours old, so they must have come and gone. I remembered the tall, steel gates from the picture my dad had showed me of a large vampire encampment. Glancing over this base, I knew that this one didn’t even compare to the larger one the vampires were most likely heading to. There was no way I could catch up to them in time before they made it back to their gigantic military stronghold. I slumped to the ground in despair and exhaustion.

 _No you can’t give up now,_ I scolded myself. Mikasa and Christa are counting on you. I wracked my brain for an idea. I wished Armin was here. He was so much better at devising plans than I was. I’m more of the person that does the manual labor and leaves the thinking to other people, usually Armin and Mikasa. But neither of them were here… I could hear my bones crack as I shifted back into a human. It was hopeless. I stayed there on the hard forest floor until I fell into an unrestful sleep, letting the blackness close in around me.

 

***

 

I awoke to a stabbing pain in my shoulder. Red flashed across my vision as the pain doubled and became agonizing. I groaned, and instinctively lashed out at whatever was in front of me. I hit something and we both fell to the ground in a tumble of limbs. The pain was intensifying and I could barely think straight.

 _Focus._ I forced myself to try and see through the haze of pain that was radiating from my shoulder. I could make out a young vampire sprawled a few feet away from me, probably no older than I was, and realized he must have been patrolling the facility when he found me passed out behind that bush. By the terrified expression on his face, I could tell he was inexperienced at combat which must have accounted for his terrible aim. He missed my head at point blank range. I was incredibly lucky it hadn’t been another vampire with slightly better aim; otherwise, I would be dead.

My shoulder throbbed painfully and I realized that he must have shot me with a silver bullet. Fighting through the pain, I shifted into my wolf form and leapt at the vampire still moaning on the ground, going straight for his throat. I felt my teeth close around soft flesh, thanking my lucky start that I had hit my target in the state I was in. With one swift motion, I tore his throat out. He stopped moving and I knew that he was dead. I collapsed to the ground when another wave of pain swept through my shoulder.

 _I have to get the bullet out._ I shifted into a human and groaned. My vision started to go blurry and I knew I needed to get the bullet out quickly before I passed out. I gave myself three seconds to prepare. 1. I took a deep breath. 2. I closed my eyes. 3. Without further hesitation, I jammed my hand into the gaping hole in my shoulder.

I screamed in agony. Blinding pain shot through my shoulder, but I didn’t remove my hand. I closed my hand around a large, cylindrical bullet and I could feel the skin on my hand burn from where it came in contact with the silver. With another strangled scream, I ripped the bullet from my shoulder.

I fell to the ground, panting from the effort of what I had just done. I could already feel myself healing now that the silver bullet had been removed. I sighed in relief as I felt the pain start to subside. However, I quickly realized my victory was shortlived when I heard an alarm blaring in the distance.

 _Shit they must have heard the gunshot._ I used my enhanced sense of smell to detect how many there were. I could sense 7 and they were all closing in on my position.

 _SHIT._ There was no way. There was absolutely no fucking way I could take on 7, fully healed vampires on my own and I was guessing I wouldn’t luck out again with more inexperienced, young vampires like the one I had just killed. Even then, they would probably still overpower me. So basically, I was royally screwed.

I went through the options in my head and I could really only come up with two. 1. I could run. I immediately eliminated that option. I was still in bad shape from being shot with a silver bullet and vampires were already naturally faster than werewolves. They could easily outrun me. 2. I could fight. That was probably my best option. Even then, there was no way I could fight and kill 7 vampires in my condition. I couldn’t do that even if I was in the best shape of my life. They had better weapons, they had superior healing abilities and they were just too fast.

I realized there was a third option. 3. Fight and die trying to kill as many vampires as you can. I resolutely decided on option 3. I was going to die, but I didn’t mind. I imagined myself walking through a tunnel of light, and at the end of the tunnel was everyone from my village.

 _But not Mikasa and Christa..._ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~They were still out there somewhere and there was nothing I could do. I could feel tears start to stream down my face and I slammed my fist into the ground with frustration. I was absolutely useless and I hated it.

 _I’m sorry Mikasa and Christa. Im so so sorry._ I could hear the vampires getting closer. I painfully stood up and grabbed the gun from the vampire that I had killed. Just because vampires weren’t susceptible to silver like werewolves didn’t mean bullets didn’t hurt them. At least, that was what I tried to convince myself in my desperation.

I leaned against a tree so that I was facing the oncoming vampires and pointed the gun in that direction with one hand, while applying pressure onto my shoulder with the other. This was the best I could do. I didn’t even have enough energy to shift into my wolf form.

I heard voices. They were almost here. I closed my eyes picturing that tunnel of light again.

I could go home now to my parents, Armin, and the rest of my village now. Well almost the rest of my village... Guilt once again filled my gut as I remembered two important people that I was about to leave behind. 

 _Forgive me Mikasa. Sorry Christa. I really did try._ A few seconds before they came into view, I started firing the gun. I winced as the recoil slammed me against the tree, reminding me just how foreign these vampire weapons were to me. I looked to see if I hit had any of them, but a shower of bullets started to rain down on me. I ducked behind a tree, painfully lurching my shoulder in the process, and I remained there until I heard the gunfire stop. They must be reloading

I leaned out from behind the tree, and started firing again. I missed every time, only managing to successfully shoot a few trees. I tried to fire again, but with an empty click, I discovered that I had run out of bullets. They must have figured this out because as soon as I tried to duck back into cover, they started shooting again.

Partway into my attempt to dive for cover, something slammed into my arm. 

I cried out and my arm jerked sickeningly to my side, dropping the gun in the process. I screamed as I felt agonizing torrents of pain flood through my arm, the extreme pain informing me that I was just shot with a silver bullet. I could feel my strength slowly seeping away as the silver weakened my body. I didn’t have time to remove the bullet, and now I was weaponless. There was only one thing I could do.

I stood up and screamed as the motion of standing forced the bullet even further into my arm. I grunted and tried to gain my bearings as the pain became overwhelming.

My arm hanging limply at my side, I ducked out from the cover of the tree and started sprinting at my enemy in one last, half-ditched attempt to try and face them head on. My desperate act seemed to surprise them, and they hesitated for a moment, lowering their guns in confusion. They had been hiding in what appeared to be a V-formation, slowly trying to close in on my and cut me off from either side. Once they realized that I had run out of bullets, they came out from hiding and surrounded me.

As soon as I had started sprinting, I could feel adrenaline pump through my body, giving me one last boost of energy. With a cracking sound, I shifted and leapt at the nearest vampire at the same instant that all 7 vampires started to fire mercilessly at me. I could feel shooting pain erupt all over my body, and I felt like I was about to explode with the intensity of it. The vampire I was leaping at maneuvered quickly to the side, and I just fell lamely to the ground, rolling into the underbrush.

 _This is it. This is how I die._ I lay there defenselessly, the multitude of bullets I had been struck with causing the pain to build and build and build. I always thought I would be terrified when I was finally faced with death's door, but now that my last moments were here, growing fewer by the second, I just wanted to get it over with. _Please just let me die._ I couldn’t even think anymore. My mind could only focus on the excruciating pain. What was I doing here again? I felt like something important was happening, but I couldn't quite remember what it was. My visions went blurry, and everything started to fade.

Right before I was about to black out completely, I suddenly felt a vast amount of energy sweep through my entire body, exploding out of every single pore. I could feel myself being thrown back by a tremendous force and then everything went dark.

 

~ A Nameless Vampire ~

 

I immediately stood to attention as I heard a gun fire in the distance. My hand instinctively fell to the gun holstered at my hip. Something was wrong. I quickly pulled the alarm at my desk and ran outside, waiting for my troops to regroup and get into formation. Whenever that alarm was pulled, all troops were supposed to report at the rendezvous point near the entrance of the base unless otherwise instructed. However, upon arrival at the rendezvous point, I did a quick head count and determined that I had a total of only six troops at my disposal. There should have been seven. 

 _Julian is missing,_ I thought, my brows furrowing in concern. He was our newest recruit, and wasn't very experienced at all. If he ran into trouble out on patrol... I couldn’t help but assume that something terrible had happened.

However, I didn’t have time to worry about that right now. I had to focus on keeping the rest of my squad alive. I shouted for my team to move out, and led the way as I ran in the direction where I had heard the gun go off.

I could tell we were getting close because the smell of blood suddenly became overpowering. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was predominately vampire blood. _Julian_. There was someone else’s blood too that I couldn’t quite make out. That person was most likely a werewolf.

I jumped into action and signaled my team to assemble into a V-formation, the best tactical course of action to take when faced with a single adversary. This way we could surround the enemy and close in on them from the sides.

Suddenly a gun went off and I ducked for cover behind the nearest tree.

_Damnit! He just have gotten ahold of Julian’s gun._

I turned to face my squad. “He has a limited number of bullets, so just wait for him to run out. Don’t waste your ammo.” I could hear a bullet hit the tree I was hiding behind. I held my ground even though I desperately wanted to kill the son of a bitch that had attacked Julian. Eventually, the explosive sound of gunshots ceased. He had run out of bullets.

“Fire!” I shouted, springing out from behind the cover of the tree. I saw a flash of movement as someone dashed behind a tree up ahead.

 _Oh no you don’t._ In the blink of an eye, I aimed my gun and fired at the moving target. I felt a wave of triumph as I heard the indicative scream of pain revealing that my shot had met its target.

That was it. We just won. Once a werewolf was hit by a silver bullet, they become severely weakened, and are easily overpowered. This one was already weakened judging from the initial scent of blood that I had picked up upon arriving at the scene, and the thought filled me with a sense of relief. This confrontation was going to be a lot easier than I had originally thought.

I signaled for my squad to surround the tree that was shielding him. We were going to finish off this werewolf mutt.

I heard another scream of agony, and then the werewolf was suddenly visible, apparently having left the shelter that the tree provided. With a fierce battle cry, he started sprinting murderously towards me.

 _What the hell is he doing?_   I lowered my gun, fearing that this was some kind of trick, and took a moment to examine the man running towards me. Well, he looked more like a teenager with his youthful, somewhat rounded face. He had a mess of straight, brown hair that was longer in the front so that it fell into his startlingly blue-green eyes, their hateful gaze fixed intently on me. It caused me to falter, and stagger back a step. It wasn't the loathing in his eyes that had surprised me. No, it was the look of haunted sorrow and hopelessness that could be seen in their depths. It was like he knew he was about to die, and had accepted that dismal fate. I couldn't argue with that assessment given the current shape he was in. I could see vivid dark brown splotches of dried blood painted across his body, the color interrupted frequently with periodic stripes of bright red, fresh blood. He looked as if he had traveled to the depths of hell and then back again. 

I didn’t have an ounce of pity for him as I raised my gun to shoot. This was just a demon in a child's body.

He shifted, transforming into a russet brown wolf, and then leapt at me. His yellow eyes glared harshly, no longer the bright blue-green that they had been moments before.

I swiftly darted to the side, effectively dodging his attack, and started firing along with the rest of my team. His body convulsed unnaturally at the number of bullets piercing his skin at the same time. He fell to the ground, and lay unmoving in the tall grass, crimson blood pooling all around him.

I relaxed. He was a goner now. I raised my gun to deal the fatal blow when I was suddenly thrown backwards by an unknown force. I grunted as I fell ungracefully onto the hard ground, my leg snapping beneath my weight. A jolt of pain shot through my leg and I gasped, my voice catching in my throat at the sudden agony tearing through my leg. I tried to steady my harsh, shallow breathing and looked around to see what had happened. My jaw dropped.

Everything within a fifty foot radius of the werewolf was gone, leaving him surrounded by a circle of dirt. Even some of the dirt had been swept away and I could see a dip in the ground where the top layer of dirt had been removed. The trees, grass, and bushes had just been ripped from the ground and hurled away, along with my squad.

My head felt dizzy and my eyes couldn’t focus. There was also a tight, aching feeling in my abdomen. I quickly recognized the symptoms of concussion and severe internal bleeding. Despite my enhanced healing abilities, I knew these injuries were fatal.

Looking around at the rest of my team, they all seemed to have gone unconscious. I didn’t want to consider the other possibility.

 _I’m going to die_ , I thought numbly, unbelieving of my situation. We had completely outnumbered the werewolf, and I had been one bullet away from killing him. Now here I was, on the verge of death.

Whatever had happened, it had to do with the half dead werewolf lying in the middle of it all. He must have done something, or used some kind of special ability to protect himself. I blinked in confusion. I had never come across any werewolf that was this powerful, or could do anything remotely similar to what had just happened.

I felt my mind start to go foggy, and I reached for the radio in my pocket. I needed to warn headquarters. I had only a few moments before I knew I was going to pass out for good.

I quickly started speaking into the radio. “Headquarters, we were attacked…I’m dying…everyone else is dead…werewolf…strange power…” Those were the only word I could mutter before the blackness clouded my vision completely and I felt myself slipping away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter has come and gone! I hoped you enjoyed seeing Eren's beautiful, brave personality getting a chance to shine. :D :D :D Anyway, you're probably wondering what the hell just happened and how on earth Eren could possibly survive that. Sorry children you'll have to wait until next time!


	8. Where am I?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> MENTIONS OF TORTURE AND IMPLICATION OF SADISM
> 
> Hello my lovelies!!! I know it's been a long time... a reeeeeeeeeally long time heheh. Sorry about that, but here I have a new chapter for you guys! Were you wondering what happened to Mikasa and Christa? Well you're about to find out! ;)

 

~ Mikasa ~

 

I groaned and blinked the sleep out of my eyes. I felt so groggy. Where was I? I assumed I was in my bed at home, but something felt wrong. It smelled funny too. It smelled a lot like…

Vampires. I suddenly remembered everything that had happened. Waking up and Eren not being there. Our village being attacked. Armin…I wracked my brain trying to remember how I had passed out. I was fighting a vampire and then I just felt really tired, and I must have blacked out. Was Eren ok? And what about mom? Why wasn’t I dead?

My head was killing me, but I slowly opened my eyes and tried to sit up. I felt really dizzy and everything seemed like it was moving. I soon realized why.

I was on a horse… with a vampire. I was positioned on the back of the horse and was leaned up against the smooth leather jacket of the vampire who was steering. He was the same one that I had fought with right before I passed out. I noticed my arms wrapped around his waist. _Nope._

I tried to move my arms away from the filthy creature, but I found that I couldn’t move. My arms were wrapped around his waist with my hands tied tightly together, effectively trapping me. He noticed that I had woken up.

“Try to escape and you die,” he said in a commanding tone, the warning clear in his voice. “There are three vampires behind me with orders to shoot you in the head if you try to get off this horse.” He turned and smiled at me, an evil smile, giving me a close up of his cruel handsome face and his cold, steel colored eyes. “I suggest you stay put, and enjoy the ride.” I looked away, to see if his words were true. It was dark, but I could make out three horses, each with a rider. Wait a minute. I looked again, and realized that there was an extra person on one of the horses.

Christa.

She didn’t look good. Her face was unnaturally pale, and I gasped, smelling the heavy scent of blood on her person. I prayed it wasn’t a silver bullet they had shot her with, but, based on her sickly appearance, I knew the odds weren’t good. She was wearing the vampire attire, black pants and a black leather jacket. I looked down to see that I was wearing an identical outfit. I grimaced. I didn’t want to wear anything that belonged to those bloodsuckers. I looked back at Christa and saw that she had started shivering. She looked so ill.

I took a deep breath before addressing the vampire in front of me.

“My friend is sick. Let her go, she won’t be any use to you.” My words were sharp, and there was a distinct growl in my voice. I hated having to address a vampire, but I had no choice. It wasn't just because she was sick. There was a reason why they didn’t kill us, and I was certain that whatever it was wasn’t going to be pleasant. I couldn’t bear to see the sweet girl I had known for so many years suffer through that kind of torment.

The vampire just chuckled. “Oh I think she’ll be plenty of use. She’s going to spend the rest of her life being useful, however long that is.”

“You can use me instead. I’ll do whatever you want I promise. Just let her go,” I pleaded, desperately. “Please…Let her go.” I whispered that part, hating the fact that I had to resort to begging.

The vampire turned and looked at me with an intrigued look on his face. “You do have the capacity for feelings. You actually care what happens to that girl.” I forced myself to remain silent, knowing that anything that came out of my mouth was sure to be acrimonious, and something along the lines of ‘yeah you must know a lot about feelings seeing how you’re a heartless vampire and all.’ Somehow, with an extraordinary amount of willpower, I managed to stay silent.

His face twisted back into that evil smile of his and he turned away from me. “No.” My heart sank and I could feel my rage swell.

“Let her go or I won’t cooperate,” I spat at him. “I’ll do everything in my power to make your life miserable.”

I couldn’t see his face, but I could hear the darkness in his voice when he said, void of emotion, “I’m already miserable.” I was taken aback by the statement and stunned into silence.

It was hopeless. I couldn’t reason with them. I thought of the sweet blonde haired girl that I had known my whole life suffering at the hands of vampires, and tears rolled down my cheeks. I could only hope that Eren, Mom and at least a few people from our village had survived. That was the only shred of hope I could hang onto as we traveled farther and farther away from my home.

 

***

 

I guess I had fallen asleep, but I jerked awake when I heard a loud grinding sound. I was still on the horse, leaning up against that god damned vampire. I looked up to see what the ear splitting noise was and my jaw dropped.

We had arrived at the vampire stronghold and I had never seen anything like it before. The sound was coming from these enormous steel gates, at least 100 feet tall, topped with sharp spikes, seeming to glisten menacingly at me from their lofty perch. The gates were slowly sliding open to reveal an even more enormous building, made completely of stone with no windows.

Looking around, I could see that there were 5 of the buildings all in a row with even more rows behind that, encompassing the area with these massive buildings. Each building towered high into the sky, bordered by watch towers. They were completely grey. Everything was grey. Grey gates, grey buildings, and even the ground was coated in dull, grey pavement.

Even more terrifying was the giant army doing drills in the front courtyard. The darkness of the night limited my vision, making the army appear to stretch on forever. I had never seen so many people in my life. No, I had never seen so many vampires in my life.

The vampire on the horse seemed to sense my awe. “Take it all in now. You’ll probably never get to go outside again,” he almost seemed to purr, exuberant that I was suffering, surrounded by my adversaries at every turn.

This guy was pissing me off. I accepted the fact that I was going to die a horrible death, most likely involving torture. I accepted that I would never get to avenge Armin, or the rest of the people of my village. However, I didn’t see why I had to listen to this guy’s snarky comments.

“Just shut up.” I demanded coldly, not caring what happened to me at this point.

The vampire didn’t respond. He just signaled to the other vampires to move forward and we entered the facility. With a creak, the gates started to close behind us, trapping us in and sealing my fate. Our horses’ hooves reverberated loudly against the pavement, and the drilling vampire soldiers stared at us as we went by, most of them with hatred in their eyes. I returned their glares with equal venom.

I looked behind me to see how Christa was doing and gasped. She looked much worse. There were deep sunken lines in her face and dark bags under her eyes, contrasting harshly with her pallid skin. She was deathly still and almost looked like a corpse. I prayed that she was indeed dead, so that she wouldn’t have to endure whatever torture the vampires were planning on doing to her.

We passed the first row of buildings, and the row after that, and the row after that. It seemed that we had reached the heart of the facility before we turned and started heading in the direction of an utterly dismal building.

The vampire on the horse with me held up an ID card next to a scanner, and I realized he must be the leader of this group. I wasn’t surprised. He had a commanding air about him as if he expected everyone to be at his beck and call.

I hated people like him.

His scanner made a beeping sound once it had recognized the code on his ID badge. The giant metal doors slid into slits in the side of the building and I realized that the doors had to be at least 6 inches thick. I gaped, unbelieving of how powerful the vampire technology was. This was just one building. There were probably 15 more just like in this facility alone. How many more facilities were there? I didn’t even want to think about it.

All of a sudden my hands were free. I looked up to see that the vampire had cut my bonds and jumped off the horse, his muscles rippling under the fabric of his jacket. I considered taking the horse and trying to escape, but I suppressed the urge. I couldn’t just abandon Christa and there was no way I would make it out alive anyway.

I guess I was taking too long to get off of the horse because the vampire grabbed my wrist, in an iron grip, and roughly pulled me off. I barely managed to land on my feet and I stumbled a bit before regaining my balance.

“Don’t touch me!” I hissed at him. A second later, I felt something kick me hard in the back and I fell to the ground.

“You may not speak to Corporal Levi that way, damn mutt,” the vampire with the dark brown hair barked. He kicked me in the stomach and I gasped as the wind was knocked out of me.

“Stop Gunther. There’s no need for that right now.” The vampire, apparently his name was Levi, interjected.

He looked down at me and I could see his eyes twinkle with excitement, “There will be plenty of time for that later.” My breath hitched slightly as I could guess what he meant by that. I knew they had kept me alive for some kind of torture or whatever, but it was hard to hear that my fears were confirmed. I could feel my stomach sink in dread but I knew I had to stay strong until the end. For Eren. For Mom. For Armin.

The memory of Armin’s death re-kindled my anger and gave me the strength to stand up. I walked by the vampire that had kicked me with a straight face, and followed Levi into the building.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So did you guys like dark Levi? I just had to do the whole Mikasa/Levi hatred thing. Anyways THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING SO PATIENT!!! Muah! See ya next time!


	9. An Unlikely Disguise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who is taking the time to read this little old story of mine!!!! It really does mean a lot. :) :) :) So here's the next chapter just for you! :D

 

~ Eren ~

 

I squinted my eyes shut as a dazzling light shone through the window, cascading my room with the luminous glow of dawn. How could it be morning already? I felt so drained, like I could sleep for days. I knew that was impossible because Mikasa would be trying to get me up soon for training, and if I didn’t comply she would throw off my warm blankets.

I shivered. It was so cold, even with my blankets. I wondered if winter was starting to cast its frosty spell early this year.

No, it was still spring.

Winter was months away. I was immediately wide awake.

I opened my eyes and realized that I wasn’t at home in my room at all. I was in the middle of a field. That explained why I was so cold. I looked around again. Wait, this wasn’t a field…This was a forest, at least it used to be. Something had uprooted all the trees and hurled them so that they had smashed into the trees fifty feet away.

I stood up groggily and took in the scene around me. My eyes widened and I stood there completely shell-shocked. I was standing in the epicenter of where everything, even the grass and vegetation, seemed to have just transported. I was in the middle of a perfect circle of dirt.

I was so stunned that I tripped over my own feet and fell back down on the ground, landing in a huge puddle of my own blood. I suddenly remembered being shot at least a dozen times. I remembered lying in a pool of blood, feeling my life fade away.

I remember dying.

No, something had happened right before I passed out. What was it? I closed my eyes and recalled a powerful energy force, pouring out of me like a rushing river. I was the one who did all this?! No it couldn’t be. But then why was I in the middle of all the destruction? What other explanation could there be?

And why was I able to move?! I quickly assessed my body, and was once again stunned. All signs that I had ever been shot were gone. The injuries had just vanished. Not only that but all my other injuries. I didn’t have a single scratch or bruise on me, not even the scar that I got when I was 12 and Mikasa and I had wrestled a little too violently and she had accidentally slashed me with her claws.

I stood up and walked over to the dead bodies that had been thrown ruthlessly along with the trees. I counted 8. One was the young vampire that I had killed and the rest were from the shoot out.

I could feel my breathing quicken. What had happened to the other 7? What kind of force was so powerful that it could kill 7 vampires so effortlessly?

I pushed that terrifying thought to the back of my mind, deciding that I would have to try and figure out this whole ordeal later. It was great that I was magically healed and all the vampires that had been attacking me were conveniently dead, but I still needed to save Mikasa and Christa.

She had probably already been taken to the vampires’ central base like the giant stronghold in the picture that my dad had showed me. Killing 7 vampires would be a walk in the park compared to the number of vampires there. I didn’t even want to imagine how many vampires were stationed at that base, guarding those heavy steel gates 24/7. Even if I could figure out what I had done to unleash that power and somehow figure out how to do it again, I had no way of knowing if it would work. Killing 7 vampires was a whole different story than a whole army of them and I might end up accidentally killing Mikasa along with them…

Fighting my way in wasn’t an option and a stealth mission was too risky. If any of the vampires up on those watch towers saw me it was all over.

I looked at the dead vampire by my feet, and realized that there was another way. I started to remove the vampire’s clothes.

 

***

 

I knew I was close when I started to smell the familiar autumn leaves scent mixed with blood – the smell of vampires. The smell was overwhelming and I knew there must be a lot of vampires nearby.

I steadied my breathing and tried to calm my nerves. This wasn’t going to work if I didn’t act the part perfectly. It made matters worse that I had to run in my human form, which was much slower than my wolf form, but I couldn’t take the chance of being seen as a wolf.

I had devised a plan that required complete removal of any scent that could reveal my identity as a werewolf. It was actually quite easy since I had done this same thing ten years ago after my village had to relocate. It took me awhile, but I eventually found the dark green herb with red flowers. Bloodweed. I ingested quite a bit of it just so that I could be absolutely sure that the scent of my blood was completely erased and grabbed another huge handful to take with me. Then I bathed in the river to remove my wolf scent and dressed in the vampire uniform.

After I left the camp, I had picked up the scent of vampires and had been following it ever since, hoping that it would take me to where I wanted to go. I knew that it had when towering steel gates came into view.

That was my cue. I began screaming and sprinted towards the gates - time to kick my plan into action. I prayed that they recognized the uniform I was wearing and wouldn’t just shoot me on sight. I didn’t hear any gunshots and felt a sense of satisfaction that the first part of my plan was working.

I heard the groan of the steel gates opening slightly to let through two vampires mounted on horses and a single horse with no rider. When I approached them, I plastered a traumatized look on my face. It was time for my acting skills to come into play. I didn’t know if I even had any acting capabilities whatsoever but I guess I was about to find out.

I called out to them, my voice shaking, “Help! Please help me! There was a werewolf, a brown werewolf, that attacked my base up North. The 707 squadron.” I hoped I got the name of the squadron right. That’s what the uniform had said.

The vampire’s faces didn’t seem to look suspicious so I kept going. “They’re all dead. Every single one of them. Dead. It all happened so fast, I didn’t know what to do…” I made my hands tremble for good measure and then fell on my hands and knees, feigning exhaustion. “So I ran all the way here. Please, that werewolf is still out there somewhere. You have to help me!" I was pleased that my voice had managed to crack on the last word and I ended my charade with a pitiful whimper.

I studied their faces to see if they had bought my story. My heart sang as they nodded at each other and hopped down to help me onto a horse. “It’s ok son,” one of them reassured me. “We’re going to kill that awful beast for what he did.” I smiled at him, shoving down the anger his statement inflicted.

The other vampire piped up, his voice filled with curiosity, “What’s you’re name?”

My hand dropped to the ID badge in my pocket that I had taken from one of the vampires. “It’s Julian. Julian Cohen.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I may or may not have spent days locked in my room brainstorming good fake names for Eren... Coming up with names is way harder than I thought it would be. xD


	10. An Unsettling Feeling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 10 is finally done yay!!!! Thanks for being so patient and awesome. :)

 

~ Levi ~

 

I knew that just over this hill the steel gates of headquarters would come into view. This was just one of the Vampire Corps military bases. There were many others like this, but this was the main one for this area and the one that I was stationed at.

Even though I was on familiar ground, I still felt tense and on edge. Werewolves had that affect on me. They just made me so bloodthirsty, well I was always bloodthirsty, but they just really put me in the mood to kill. I was hyper aware that the werewolf riding on the same horse as me was alive, and every bone in my body was telling me to finish it off now. I repressed the urge, knowing that I needed this one alive to tell me where any other werewolf camps are.

That wasn’t the only reason why I was keeping it alive. I thought of the russet brown werewolf doused in Petra’s blood, the sneer unmistakable across its blood spattered face. The werewolf behind me might know where that devil had fled to.

We cleared the hill and were nearing the steel gates that enclosed the facility. I heard a sharp intake of breath behind me. I raised my eyebrows realizing that this must be an incredible sight for a werewolf. This was way more advanced than any of those rundown werewolf villages and I could feel myself glowing with a sense of pride. I also realized that it must be terrible for a werewolf to be completely surrounded by their enemy. She probably felt so trapped and vulnerable.

_Perfect._

“Take it all in now. You’ll probably never get to go outside again,” I taunted her, enjoying the discomfort she was in.

She responded sharply. “Just shut up.” Usually such rudeness would anger me, but not right now. I was amused. I could tell she was already beginning to suffer and I loved it.

We entered through the gates and I led my team to the building where we kept prisoners. After about a five minute journey, we arrived. I quickly flashed my ID badge to open the doors and then I set to work on the girl’s bonds, using my razor sharp fangs to slice through the strong fibers of the rope.

The rope instantly cut, separating me from the girl, and allowing me to jump off the horse. I stood idly by and waited for everyone else to dismount. I knew that the she-wolf was probably planning on taking the horse and making a run for it. That’s what any other sane person would consider – it was a great opportunity. I also knew that there was no way she could make it past the giant army drilling near the front gates, but I was curious to see what she would do. I wanted to know how desperate she was to escape.

Ten seconds later she still hadn’t tried to escape. Interesting. I’m not a very patient man so I decided her time was up. I spun around and roughly pulled her off the horse.

“Don’t touch me!” I heard a movement and I looked up just in time to see Gunther kick the girl to the ground.

His face contorted with anger. “You may not speak to Corporal Levi that way, damn mutt.” I rolled my eyes.

He kicked her in the gut and before he could kick her again I broke in, “Stop Gunther. There’s no need for that right now.” I think the werewolf knew what I meant by that because her eyes darkened. She knew what was coming.

I decided to say it anyway, just to amplify her fears. “There will be plenty of time for that later.” With that I walked into the darkly lit hallway.

 

***

 

After taking an elevator down to the lowest floor, a precaution in case a prisoner tried to escape, I led the she-wolf and my team to an empty cell. Actually, all the prison cells in this building were empty. There was never an instance in which we had prisoners, except now of course.

“Lock her up.” Eld nodded in response to my command, and shoved the girl into a dank, stone cell absent of any furniture. He slammed the cell door shut and locked it with a sharp click. I walked up to the bars of the cell.

“I hope you’re comfortable,” I inquired cordially, a cruel undertone present in my voice. I leaned in close, my face practically pressed up against the bars, and slyly murmured loud enough for her to hear, “Ill let you rest after your journey and then we can…get down to business.” She looked up and held my gaze. This was going to be a lot more fun than I thought. This werewolf had spirit and I was going to enjoy tearing that spirit down.

It would have to wait though. I motioned to Eld who was carrying the unconscious blonde werewolf bridal style. “Let’s take that one to Hanji.”

 

~ Eren ~

 

I could feel myself tense as I passed through the towering steel gates, officially entering into vampire territory. I remembered the promise I had made my Dad that I would never go near one of these bases, let alone enter one. My chest tightened with sadness at the thought of disappointing him.

_Sorry Dad, I have to do this. For Mikasa._

We approached the colossal vampire army training in the expanse near the front gates. To my surprise, instead of walking around the training vampires we were headed straight for them. My heart started to race.

 _Please don’t notice. Please don’t notice._ I prayed, hoping that the bloodweed had effectively hidden the scent of my blood. I looked straight ahead, trying to act casual. The vampires stopped what they were doing and stepped aside, making a path for us. I followed the muscular blonde vampire in front of me and willed the long stretch before us to be shorter. We were heading toward a building located in the center of the encampment, probably the headquarters of this facility.

 _Almost there._ My plan was working so far, but everything would be ruined if even just one of these vampires noticed something off about me. _So close…_

I relaxed once we passed through the last row of soldiers. They hadn’t noticed. I was astounded that my plan was working out so well, but I wouldn’t let myself get excited yet. I hadn’t even found Mikasa and Christa yet, let alone figuring out a way to get us all out of this place alive.

I would just have to take it one step at a time.

 

***

 

I followed the two vampires into a thing called an “elevator,” at least that’s what the blonde vampire called the contraption. It started to go up, and my face paled as all the blood in my body rushed to my feet. I gripped the metal handles tightly and was relieved when we stopped moving. I quickly stepped out of the horrid mechanism as soon as the doors opened.

“Commander Erwin’s office is on the top floor. He wants to meet with you,” explained the blonde one. In my close proximity to him, I was able to study his face, noticing his structured features and prominent jawline.

He became aware of my staring and smiled warmly at me.

The vampire held out his hand. “I’m Reiner Braun.” I didn’t hesitate in shaking his hand and returned his friendly smile. I internally grimaced at having to touch a vampire, but I needed to appear as inconspicuous as possible.

Reiner gestured toward the vampire with dark brown hair, and a slim face. “And this is Bertholdt Hoover.”

I nodded my head at Bertholdt in acknowledgement and was met with piercing scrutiny. I put the most relaxed look on my face, and evened my breathing, trying to appear calm and collected to ease his suspicions. It must have worked because the suspicion eventually left his face and he turned away.

We soon arrived at a doorway. In a second, Reiner had opened the door and sauntered in, followed by myself and Bertholdt.

Upon entering the room, I took in my surroundings. I had entered an immaculate, dreary office with a grey-blue color encompassing the room in its dull hue. The only highlight of the room was a tall, surprisingly slender man for the power that emanated from him and flooded the small space with the authority he commanded.

I automatically took a step backward, overwhelmed by the sheer dominance of the man even with his back turned away from us. His attention was focused on the training army that could be seen through the the window, but I knew that he had heard us walk in. He stayed there for a moment and with one smooth motion, turned around to face us.

I was immediately entranced by the ice blue of his intuitive eyes, filled with a wisdom I had only seen before in my Dad’s eyes. His prominent eyebrows sculpted his eyes, and bestowed his face with the same authority as his presence. His yellow blonde hair was cut neatly, and swept aside in a short haircut to keep it out of his eyes.

All I could do was gawk at him.

Reiner was the first one to speak, addressing the man with a salute. “Sir. We’ve brought you the boy as requested.” I frowned at the word “boy.” I was practically a full grown adult, not a boy. I was about to say so when the man’s voice interrupted my thoughts.

“Thank you, Reiner. Thank you, Bertolt. I can take it from here. Dismissed.” A deep timbre resonated throughout the room as the man spoke.

“Yes Sir.” They saluted once again and then departed.

I was alone with him.

I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to do, so I just stood there awkwardly. I was relieved when he gestured towards a chair in front of his desk, and I immediately sat down.

He seemed to be lost in thought, but then he turned to me and smiled, his face brightening with an amiable expression.

“Hello there. I’m Commander Erwin.” He held out his hand. “Pleased to make your acquaintance.” I shook it, and watched as Commander Erwin sat down at his desk. He looked at me expectantly. “And your name is?”

“Oh-uh-er sorry Commander Erwin, uh, Sir.” Shit. I tried to steady my voice as I continued. “My name is Julian Cohen. I’m from the 707 squadron up North.” I was relieved that my voice came out only slightly squeaky this time.

His face looked intrigued. “Oh I see. May I ask what happened?” His gaze wandered to my uniform. “You’re covered in blood.”

I nodded. “My squadron was killed, Sir. By a russet brown werewolf. I barely made it out alive.” I pretended to look outraged. “It killed, no _slaughtered_ , all 7 of my comrades.” It wasn’t hard to make my voice shake with anger. That was an emotion well known to me.

The man continued to gaze at me, very calmly. “I’m sorry that you had to experience that.” I noticed a hint of suspicion in his voice when he said, “If I may, how did _you_ survive if that werewolf was so strong that it killed 6 armed vampire soldiers and a lieutenant.”

I responded immediately, having already come up with my cover story. “That werewolf was…different than any werewolf I’ve ever come across. It had this strange power.” I pretended to act incredulous. “It was able to throw back me and all 7 of my comrades with some kind of energy force.” I threw up my hands, trying to mimic the energy field that I had experienced. “The only reason I survived was because I was farther away from the werewolf so I wasn’t hit as hard as the rest. After that, it collapsed with exhaustion I’m guessing, and I didn’t wait to see if it woke up. Then I ran here as fast as I could.”

I took a deep breath as I finished my story, satisfied at the tale I had come up with. I decided to use a blend of lies and the truth, realizing that they might investigate the area to verify my story. Also because I was a terrible liar.

Commander Erwin seemed lost in thought again, probably processing what I had just said.

I spoke earnestly, “That’s what happened, Sir, I swear.”

“Don’t worry, I believe you Julian.” He stood up. “Of course, you’ll be stationed here from now on. You can’t go back to your old squadron, I’m afraid.”

“I understand.”

He strolled over to where I was sitting. “Excellent. You should rest for now, but starting tomorrow you’ll begin training with the rest of the troops. You’ll be training with Corporal Levi’s squad. It’s quite fortunate actually since we recently lost someone in that squad, so you will be her replacement.” I nodded in understanding.

Suddenly he was leaning over me, and I jolted back in surprise. He grabbed my dad’s key that was hanging on a necklace around my throat. “This is very fine work. May I ask where you got this?”

“Oh-uh-I’m not sure actually. My father gave it to me when I was young.” My heart started racing at his close proximity. I prayed that the bloodweed was effectively hiding my scent.

I quickly stood up and stepped away from him, trying to create some distance. He dropped the key.

I saluted, “Thank you for everything, Commander.” My heart was still racing.

He smiled, a wistful look in his eyes. “Of course, Julian.” He opened the door for me. “Now go talk to my secretary over at the front desk. He will provide you with your room key and schedule.” He paused and stared at my throat. “Dismissed.”

I hurriedly walked away. He made me feel…uneasy… I stroked the gold key at my neck. Why was he so interested in it? I pushed the thought away and headed to the man standing at the front desk to receive my room key and schedule.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Eren is such an awkward little cinammon roll hehe ;) Anyway I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! <3 <3 <3


	11. Déjà Vu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all you wonderful people! So first things first,
> 
> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> THERE IS AN INTENSE AND DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PANIC ATTACK IN THIS CHAPTER. DESCRIPTIONS OF BLOOD AND DEATH. PTSD.
> 
> If you haven't already figured out from the above statement, shit is about to go down in this chapter. But don't worry it's not all bad! I'll just let you read and find out. ;)

 

~ Eren ~

 

My body seemed to groan in protest as I woke up promptly at 6 O’clock.

6 O’clock pm.

I was not used to this new nocturnal thing, so I had only been able to get a few hours of sleep. Now it was time for whole day of training. I groaned, out loud this time, and practically fell out of bed.

I stumbled over to where I had thrown my new uniform. Suddenly I was very awake as I stared at the all too familiar black outfit. The uniform consisted of skin tight black pants made of a stretchy material to enhance mobility, a weird black shirt made out of a shiny fabric, and a black leather jacket – a black leather jacket with white angel wings sewed across the back. Reminding myself that Mikasa and Christa’s lives were at stake, I numbly put on the outfit and fought every instinct I had to set the uniform on fire.

I couldn’t very well go hunting right now, so I had to settle for a breakfast of bloodweed. After gulping down a few handfuls of the red plant, I headed out for my first day of training.

 

***

 

My eyes strained against the blackness of the night as I tried to see my way across the vampire base. Back at my village, I had rarely gone out at night, preferring the bright clarity of day. When I saw a light up ahead I almost jumped for joy, until I noticed that there was also a group of vampires outlined by the lamplight.

I forced myself to walk forward, towards the vampires, which went against every fiber of my being.

As I stepped into the lamplight, a sea of faces turned to look at me.

I waved awkwardly. “Hi. I’m Er-Julian Cohen.” I almost said Eren, but I quickly stopped myself and instead articulated the name of the vampire whose ID tag I had stolen. “It’s nice to meet you.”

A pleasant boy, with brown hair and freckles waved back. “Hi Julian!” He was elbowed in the stomach by a vampire with a face that looked like – well it looked like a horse honestly.

“Shhh Marco! Don’t talk to him! We don’t know if we can trust him yet…He could be working for the enemy,” horse face declared under his breath. He glared at me suspiciously.

I rolled my eyes, “Um…I can hear you.”

A serious girl with long dark hair tied up in a ponytail jumped in with a no nonsense tone, “Shut up Jean. Don’t be rude.” She scowled at him, her eyes glistening with intimidation. She reminded me of Mikasa.

The one they called Jean was still glaring at me, but his face softened slightly and he muttered, “I wasn’t being rude Ymir. It’s called being cautious.”

“I don’t think Commander Erwin would have allowed him in the gates if he thought Julian was a threat.” I looked up to see a tan vampire with dark brown hair that ended in a point at the back. “I trust him if Erwin does.” He nodded in my direction. “Hello Julian. I’m Gunther Schulz. Welcome to the team.” I returned his nod, only to hear Jean snort.

Another vampire behind Gunther also greeted me. “I’m Eld Jinn. It’s nice to meet you.” He didn’t wait for my response and returned to staring silently at the sky.

An obnoxious voice spoke up next. “I’m with Jean. We can’t trust this pipsqueak yet.”

“Oluo no one cares what you think.” I recognized the vampire from earlier, the blonde one named Reiner. He was the one who had spoken. I noticed that Bertolt was standing next to him.

Reiner gave me a friendly look and continued jokingly, “Don’t listen to that one. He has a stick up his ass.”

I chuckled along with several of the other vampires, suddenly feeling nostalgic at the familiar banter. This was almost what trainings were like back at my village…I shook my head at the ridiculous thought. These damn bloodsuckers were nothing like my friends and family.

Oluo looked pissed off. “Why you--”

“Silence.” The other vampires instantly went quiet at the sound of a cold, severe voice coming from behind me. I turned around and my jaw dropped.

I was staring into light grey eyes. I had seen this vampire before. He was one of the vampires that had attacked my village. I couldn’t help but gape at him as I remembered that day. I remembered seeing my dead friends and family littered across blood spattered grass. I remembered my body pulsing with hatred as we charged at each other, both with the cutthroat intention to tear the other apart.

He was scowling at me, his thinly sculpted, cruel face appearing more handsome than I remembered. The harsh lamplight caused shadows to creep under his eyes and down his neck, somehow making him seem even more attractive.

“Who the hell are you looking at boy?”

Every muscle in my body tensed as my loathing for this vampire filled me to the very core. How _dare_ he attack my precious village. How _dare_ he hurt the people I care about. How _dare_ he destroy my peaceful home. We hadn’t done anything to them. We had just been trying to live our humble lives without disturbance and _they_ had taken it all away. The vampires. _That vampire._

My voice was low and seething with hatred when I spoke. “Who the fuck are you?”

His gaze hardened at my defiant comment and he strode up to me. He grabbed my chin, pulling me within inches of his face, and studied me completely void of emotion.

I continued to glare at him.

“I’m your superior brat and the next time you disrespect me, I’ll have you run 50 laps around the entire perimeter.” He dropped me.

“Well that’s a great way to greet the new recruit, Levi,” the dark haired vampire called Ymir teased.

“Shut it Ymir. I can have you run with him if you like,” the vampire named Levi shot back. “And I’m Corporal to you, not Levi.” Ymir just chuckled in response.

He turned to the rest of the group. “Now if everyone would shut up, we can get started.” I was surprised to see everyone stop talking and give their full attention to Levi.

 _They want to be here,_ I realized. I couldn’t help but think of myself, attending trainings every day back at my village for the chance to improve my abilities so that one day I could kill all the vampires. I had to suppress a laugh at the morbid irony that I was attending a vampire training to learn how to kill werewolves.

Levi continued, “We’re going to be doing hand to hand combat today and since Mr. hot shot over here is so full of himself, he’s going first.”

My eyes widened as I realized he was referring to me and my heart started to race. In my wolf form, combat was as natural as breathing. However, I didn’t practice fighting in my human form very often and without my razor sharp teeth and claws, I felt so vulnerable.

“Hurry up brat.” Levi had gone into a defensive position with his fists hovering in front of his face.

My heart sank as I realized I didn’t have a choice in the matter. I was going to have to fight him. I moved hesitantly so that I was a few paces away from him and then imitated his stance.

Before I could even begin to think of a tactical strategy, he had already kicked my legs out from under me and pinned my arms at either side of my head with his fangs bared at my throat.

I inwardly groaned at the fact that my archnemesis had already forced me into a compromising position twice in the spanse of a few minutes.

He chuckled and stood up. “Is that really all you got newbie? Geez, did they teach you anything at your other camp?” There was sharp pain in my side and I grunted in surprise. He kicked me!

“Hey!” I gasped, breathless from the kick. “What was that for?”

He turned his head and looked down at me with an unreadable expression. “Failure. Now get up and try again.”

 

***

 

I felt a fist connect with my face and I flew about ten feet before colliding with the hard ground. A foot slammed into my side and a gasp escaped my lips. The foot slammed into my side again, this time with a crunching sound, before resting on my cheek, forcing my face into the dirt.

“If I had been a werewolf, you would be dead.” Levi removed his foot and snorted. “That’s 46 times now. Really kid, I don’t know how you’ve survived this long with so little skill.”

I wanted to reply with a sarcastic comment, but instead I just groaned. My body ached all over. I had been fighting with Levi for hours now and I was completely exhausted. I could heal faster than the average human, but hours of Levi kicking the shit out of me was taking its toll on my body.

I coughed and sat up, glaring at him. “I don’t think it’s the werewolves I need to worry about.”

He just smirked. “I agree. Those creatures are too stupid to be a serious threat.” Suddenly he looked down and his eyes darkened. “But don’t underestimate the mongrels either. They’ve killed far too many of us already.”

His face looked so…hurt. I did a double take. Vampires don’t feel emotion. They’re just cold, apathetic killers. I shook my head and assumed that the heavy beating I took was messing with my eyesight.

_Of course the bloodsuckers don’t have feelings. Geez pull yourself together…_

Levi’s voice brought me out of my trance. “Alright kid that’s enough for today. It’s almost sunrise.” He turned to the rest of the vampires who had been sparring with each other while I had been ‘practicing’ with Levi or, more accurately, getting my ass kicked.

A sharp voice resounded throughout the area and immediately captured everyone’s attention. “Everybody stop. We’re done for today. I expect to see you all at 7:00 pm sharp tomorrow. Don’t be late.” With that Levi turned sharply on his heels and walked away.

I was glad to see him leave. Ymir looked in my direction and seemed to read my thoughts. “Don’t worry, he’s not always that grumpy.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “He’s just a little…upset right now. He recently lost someone very important him.” Something came over her face for a moment, and she looked away. However, when she turned back to me, whatever it was had passed.  

Then she shot me a cocky smirk and drawled nonchalantly, “You’ll get used to him... Well relatively more used to him.”

I internally gaped as I realized these vampires actually respected that short egotist. It took all the self control I had not to bark out loud at how preposterous the idea was that I could ever actually ‘get used to him.’

Instead I replied with a strained, “Yeah I’m sure I will.”

Ymir grinned. “I like you already. Hurry up newbie, let’s get something to eat.”

“Oh uh I…” I tried to protest but she had already grabbed my arm, not all that lightly, and started pulling me towards a building which I assumed was the cafeteria. I looked behind me to see the other vampires following us.

I forced a friendly expression onto my face. If I wanted any chance of survival, I would have to befriend these vampires. I turned to them and jokingly said, “Geez is she like this all the time?” That got me a laugh and a hearty “yes” from the other trainees. Well everyone except Jean. He was going to take some work before he trusted me. Everyone else seemed to have taken kindly to me though and we entered the cafeteria with smiles on our faces.

I walked in and did a double take as I saw vampires sitting at cafeteria table, drinking juice from plastic bottles. No the liquid was a crimson color, and much thicker than juice.

It was blood.

I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. I guess I had pictured feral vampires ripping a body to shreds and feasting on blood like hungry lions or something like that. This sight of vampires casually sipping blood from bottles seemed even more morbid somehow. It made me feel sick.

“Come on!” Ymir brought me back to reality and she pulled me to an empty table. I mechanically sat down, suddenly feeling slightly claustrophobic at how utterly surrounded I was by vampires – vampires drinking blood. Blood.

I desperately tried to fight it but I couldn’t prevent the bloody image of my village from surfacing in my mind. I felt nauseous. I had to get out of here.

Marco looked at me with concern. “Are you alright Julian?”

I tried to smile reassuringly but it probably came out more like a grimace. My heart was pounding against my chest and I felt like I couldn’t breathe.

“Y-yeah I’m fine.” I inhaled sharply, trying to catch my breath. “Uh, you know I think I’m gonna head back to my quarters I’m not feeling very hungry right now. I guess it was all of the ass kicking from Levi.”

I forced out a small laugh, but it was too pained and strangled sounding to be believable. I felt faint as images shot through my mind of my village engulfed in flames followed by images of the mutilated bodies of my parents and Armin.

The silent scene that had been playing in my head suddenly vanished and it was like I had been transported back to my village. There were vampires all around me, dripping blood. Agony-ridden screams ripped through the air and echoed over and over in my head. Putrescent smoke swirled around me head and down my throat, strangling me with the taste of copper and blood. My eyes burned and watered as the gruesome memories danced around and around me, moving too fast to be seen and yet each one adding to the growing pit of anguish in my stomach. I couldn’t think, I could only remember.

I could barely make out Marco asking if I was sure I was alright, but it was enough to bring me back to reality. I didn’t bother to respond and instead sprinted out of the building as fast as my shaky legs could carry me.

I was hyperventilating by the time I was outside and I collapsed on the ground.

I tried to slow my breathing, but my mind was reeling and it took everything I had to focus. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. I thought of Armin reading quietly by a tree. I thought of Mikasa teasing me and my mom joining in with her chiming laughter. I thought of my dad’s calculating look whenever he was working at his desk.

I finally started to calm down and I realized that I was gripping the key hanging around my neck so tightly that a deep purple bruise had formed on my palm. I untangled my hand from the key and stood up shakily.

My breathing was still slightly labored as I recovered from my panic attack. I started walking in the direction of my quarters and I was still so focused on breathing normally that I didn’t notice the short man in front of me until I collided with him.

“Oi, watch where the fuck you’re going brat!” I cursed everything good in this universe as I recognized the voice of the vampire who had beat the shit out of me during training.

Why did it have to be him? I would have been fine running into _anyone_ but him.

I would rather have that horse-face vampire standing in front of me right now. In fact, I would _hug_ horse-face if it meant I didn’t have to run into Levi right now.

A condescending voice interrupted my inner turmoil.

“This is the part where most people apologize for slamming into someone,” Levi remarked in such a pretentious way that I wanted punch him. “But I realize this simple act of courtesy might be too much for an idiot like you to comprehend.” His eyes glistened, daring me to contradict him.

Oh I dared.

I couldn’t keep the biting tone out of my voice when I replied, “I thought your idea of courtesy was kicking the shit out of new recruits. Forgive me for not realizing you had a sense of decency.”

To my disappointment, the only reaction I received was an amused smile. “Oh so you can fight back? Only through words of course. We’ve all seen the extent of your physical fighting abilities. Now how about that apology?”

I was seething at this point. “So let me get this straight. You kick the shit out of me and insult me not once, but twice and you want _me_ to apologize to _you_?”

He raised his eyebrows at me and he looked as if he was about to reply with a sarcastic comment when he noticed my shaken state. I realized my hands were trembling and I was still out of breath from my panicked episode a few minutes ago. I despised the display of weakness in front of a vampire and tried to make myself appear as normal as possible.

He didn’t buy it. I’m not sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me or if there was actually concern etched on his face. “Um brat, are you alrigh-”

“I’m _fine_ ,” I cut in defensively. “I didn’t see you looking so concerned when you were using me as a punching bag during training”

Now he looked defensive. “I’m _not_ concerned.” He sounded exasperated when he continued, “But what am I supposed to do when you look like someone just kicked your puppy?”

I rolled my eyes. “I do not look like someone just-”

“Yes, yes you do.” His hand shot out so fast that I didn’t even have time to register it before he was grabbing my wrist.

I was about to reply but my voice caught in my throat at his sudden contact with my skin. I panicked as I realized he might be able to feel my pulse and I tried to wrench my hand away, to no avail.

His grip was like a vice around my wrist, but his expression was soft. “See? You’re hands are shaking. What happened brat?”

I could feel my anger rising. My day so far had been a constant down spiral of one shitty event after the other, and 95% of it was the fault of the vampire standing in front of me. Then he has the audacity to act concerned like he actually gives a shit about me.

Being the rash, impulsive person that I am, I decide to say exactly that.

“Stop acting like you actually care about what my problems are!” I shouted. “You made it all too clear at training today how much you hate me so what the fuck are you trying to accomplish?”

I was glaring at him, breathing heavily from my outburst.

Levi looked shocked and dropped my hand abruptly like it had burned him. After a moment his expression hardened, and his voice was low when he spoke. “I don’t know where you got the idea that I hate you but believe me when I tell you that I treat you, and all the other recruits, the way I do so that you’ll be prepared when you go into battle with a werewolf.”

His eyes glinted with rage. “I mean do you honestly think that I was rough with you today because I fucking felt like it? Do you think that when you’re fighting a werewolf, they’re going to be gentle and ensure that you don’t get hurt? What do you think I’m preparing you for, a pillow fight?! God, how low must you think of me to assume I just needlessly inflict pain on a person for no reason?” His face was contorted with fury by now and his face was inches from mine. I was lost for words as I looked into those furious, grey eyes.

His next words were sharp. “You have been here for less than 24 hours, so don’t you goddamn pretend like you know anything about me, Julian, because you obviously don’t.”

His sudden display of anger had left me totally stunned and before my mind could return to reality he had already whirled around and had started storming away.

_Oh no you don’t._

All I remember is a searing rage shooting through me and before I knew it I had tackled Levi and pinned him to the ground.

I must have caught him by surprise because he was looking up at me with a look of total disbelief, like he was still processing the fact that I had actually just knocked him to the ground.

I didn’t give him time to speak.

“Don’t you _dare_.” My voice cut through the air with a viciousness that surprised even myself. “Don’t you _dare_ talk to me about needlessly inflicting pain. I have seen my family slaughtered mercilessly right in front of me. My friend, no my _brother_ , was murdered in his sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see their dead faces and feel their blood slick against my hands as I held their body for the last time. So don’t talk to me about needlessly inflicting pain because I know what it feels like to have someone take away what you love most for sport. Not because we were a threat to them. Not because we had attacked them. _No_. It was because they fucking decided to walk into my home one day and take away everything that was precious to me. So yes, I do think you inflict pain on others for no reason because you…you’re just like _them_.”

My throat burned and I realized that my voice had risen to an all out shout. I was shaking, and tears were streaming down my face but I didn’t care. I was being flooded by so many emotions that it felt like I was drowning with the weight of it all and on top of that, a panic was setting in that I had just blown my cover. It wouldn’t be hard to figure out what I was talking about. I had probably just lost my only chance to save Mikasa and Christa.

Any moment now I knew Levi was going to accuse me of being a werewolf and then try to kill me. I might be able to take him one-on-one if I shifted right now, but it wouldn’t be long before the entire base was alerted that a werewolf had infiltrated their borders and then there would be hundreds of vampires swarming me.

I was already dead.

I realized that I was still pinning Levi to the ground, so I stood up and closed me eyes, preparing myself for the inevitable death blow that was probably going to come any second now.

But instead I was left waiting.

My eyes snapped open to see an empty courtyard with no Levi in sight.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...that was some pretty heavy stuff, but I hope you enjoyed all the Eren and Levi in this chapter! Before you click out of this tab and move onto your next fanfic, let me know what you thought of the interactions between Eren and Levi. I'm still playing with the characters and trying to gauge how to write them without being OOC . Any comments you may have would be welcomed with open arms! <3


	12. Grief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> DESCRIPTION OF A GUNSHOT WOUND AND RELATIVELY MILD VIOLENCE 
> 
> Hello again my little archive children! Ok first I have to say, I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN FREAKING FOREVER!!! After my last semester of school ended, my brain was so dead that writing was a thing that was just not going to happen. Just the thought of having to actually form coherent words and sentences made me want to go take a nice loooooooong nap. BUT my brain is alive again and I will be posting two chapters for you guys today! (Dear lord it's about time! Has it really almost been 5 months since I last updated? I SUCK)
> 
> I'm also going to be posting a few more chapters periodically throughout the week because once I started writing again, a whole bunch of chapters just kinda popped out! I just need to edit them and then I will put them up for you guys. 
> 
> SIDENOTE: I'm going to try and update as regularly as I can, but once school starts again I can't guarantee anything. I'm taking a pretty intense course load on top of participating in sports and I have to like eat and sleep and all that fun stuff so we're just gonna see how this goes. I will honestly try and write during the school year though because I really enjoy it and I love seeing you guys enjoy my story and it all just makes me really happy. 
> 
> On the bright side, I have some really fun plot arcs coming up in the future! We are finally starting to get past the whole Eren and Levi hate each other's guts to the lovely gay feelings stage. ;) ;) ;)
> 
> If you actually read this far into my note, you are my favorite person ever. *winks and gives you finger guns* Now start reading you lovely people! In this chapter begins the relationship between our favorite snk lesbians. :D

 

~ Ymir ~

 

“Oluo, what did you do to scare off the newbie?” I teased, half joking and half genuinely wondering what happened to cause the headstrong, new recruit to bolt out of the cafeteria like his worst fear had just incarnated right in front of him.

I also just thoroughly enjoyed ridiculing Oluo. I mean didn’t everybody?

“What?! I didn’t even say anything to him! He was probably embarrassed because he fucked up at training today, and couldn’t bear to be in the presence of such greatne-.” The cocky man bragged gesturing to himself, and then proceeded to bite his tongue which earned him quite a few snickers and snorts from everyone at the table.

However, the laughter died down prematurely compared to our usual hearty laughing sessions after Oluo says something idiotic. An awkward silence filled the air, and the tension in the room became stifling.

I glanced at my comrades from across the table and wasn’t surprised to see the same crestfallen expression that had been there ever since our last mission. It was probably the same expression that was displayed on my own face.

We sat in an uneasy silence, broken only by the occasional sip of blood. This went on for what seemed like an eternity before the silence was broken by a fist slamming into the table.

Jean’s voice cut through the air. “Would you guys stop looking like some kind of funeral procession! Petra isn’t coming back and she wouldn’t want you moping around like this forever.”

Jean’s outburst seemed to startle everyone and a few moments passed before Reiner spoke up angrily. “God Jean can’t you just let us grieve? This isn’t some random vampire we’re talking about. This is Petra. Petra our friend, remember? I don’t know about you, but I don’t particularly feel like smiling and laughing right now.”

Gunther grunted in disagreement. “None of us do, but I’m also pretty damn sure Petra wouldn’t want us sitting around like we have nothing left to live for. I mean come on guys, the war between vampires and werewolves is almost over. We have everything to live for and I know Petra would want us to be living our lives to the fullest even though she can’t be here with us.”

“Oh yeah? Well, what do you expect us to do? Go on acting as if everything is normal? Because it’s not,” Reiner quickly shot back.

Eld groaned and facepalmed. “Guys, this really isn’t helpin-”

“No I’m sick of this.” Jean interrupted. “Don’t get me wrong I’m just as devastated as all of you, but crying and whining isn’t going to bring Petra back.”

Reiner glowered at Jean. “You are such an ass. Seriously how heartless can you be?”

“I’m an ass? Why don’t you take a good look in the mirror.”

“Fuck you Jean.”

“Sorry I can’t hear you. I don’t speak stupid.”

“You are being completely ridiculous. Why don’t you grow up because I’m sick of your immature behav-”

“EVERYBODY SHUT UP!” Everyone instantly stopped talking and was gaping at me in surprise. My shout had echoed throughout the room and everyone in the cafeteria had stopped their conversations, turning to stare at us.

I turned my attention to Jean and Reiner and glared warningly at them, daring them to say anything else. Jean looked as if he was about to argue with me, but he saw my expression and swallowed his words.

My voice was low and seething when I spoke. “I can’t believe you guys. Petra is dead and you’re bickering like a bunch of 5 year olds. Don’t you remember how much Petra hated it when we argued? Whenever we fought like this, she used to scold us for being so childish and now that she’s gone, you’re doing exactly the thing that she hated so much. All you’re doing is disrespecting her memory and I’m not going to sit here and watch you do that.”

My face was flushed with anger but after I finished talking, I could feel the anger drain away. I sighed and quietly added, “Come on guys. We shouldn’t be fighting with each other when we’re all we have left. Instead of directing our anger at each other, we should be focusing on finding the werewolf that killed Petra. Then when we do, we’ll make the mongrel regret what it did.”

My talk of revenge seemed to unite everyone at the table and I could feel our normal camaraderie starting to return.

Oluo pumped a fist in the air and shouted, “Hell yeah we will!”

Reiner looked embarrassed and scratched his head nervously. “Sorry Ymir. You’re right we were being idiots.” Jean didn’t say anything, but he was looking down at the ground in shame. Marco put a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Well well well, there’s quite a bit of drama going on over here!” An exuberant, high pitched voice snapped our attention to the eccentric red-head who was leaning her hip against our table, and observing the scene with speculative eyes. “This is much more interesting than the rest of the drab vamps in here! They’re all talking about strategic military stuff which is just blah blah blah, but _this_ is much more interesting. I should sit over here more often! I should bring Levi over here next time we come to the cafeteria and maybe he’ll actually lighten up. I mean seriously the last time we were here he actually ignored me for a good 20 minutes.”

“Hanji what do you want?” I deadpanned. I didn’t care if I was being rude. If you didn’t interrupt Hanji, she could go on for hours on anything ranging from a philosophical stain on the floor to mythological creatures like titans or whatever they’re called.

Hanji either didn’t care or didn’t notice my rudeness and, if anything, she was beaming even brighter than before. “Oh why Ymir darling how are you? I feel like I haven’t talked to you in ages! We should get together for a cup of blood sometime and catch up. I know the best time to go to the cafeteria when they’ve just warmed up the blood and it’s positively deliciou-”

“Hanji cut the crap. Why are you here?”

Again, my rude comment didn’t even faze her. “Oh yes! You see I didn’t just come over here for small talk.”

“Really? You could’ve fooled me.”

She burst out laughing. “Oh stop it! You crack me up! Well anyways as I was sayin-” Before she could finish, she burst into another laughing fit.

“That’s it. I’m leaving.”

“No! Wait!” Her face was suddenly overcome with a startling seriousness that was very unlike Hanji and her eyes bored into mine with an unsettling intensity.

“That’s really creepy Hanji.”

“Ymir, I need your help with something of insurmountable importance.”

I raised my eyebrows beckoning her to explain. She just kept staring at me.

“Um…I’m going to need a little more explanation than that Hanji.”

“It would be much easier to show you than to explain. Come!” Then she was grabbing my hand and ushering me towards the exit.

 

~ Christa ~

 

My vision was shrouded in darkness. I couldn’t see anything. Where was I? Why was everything so dark?

I tried to recollect any memories that would explain where I was and how I had gotten there, but I couldn’t think clearly. My mind seemed to be clouded with a thick fog that wouldn’t go away.

I started to panic. I tried screaming but the fog was suddenly in my throat, choking me. I felt like I was dying. Oh god I was going to die.

“Hey! Hey wake up!” I opened my eyes and suddenly the darkness was replaced with a startlingly bright light. I looked around and realized that I was in my village again.

Of course I was in my village. Where else would I be?

“Christa you zoned out there for a minute. You ok?” Eren’s concerned tone was soothing and I felt myself relax from my previously stricken state. I glanced around at the training field and the familiar sight of my friends sparring with each other. It was just a normal day of training. I must have been sparring with Eren before I zoned out.

“Yeah, of course I’m fine! I don’t know what came over me. I’ve just been a little out of it today that’s all,” I replied.

Eren’s face was still etched with worry. “Are you sure? Do you need to take a break? I’m sure Shadis wouldn’t mind…well actually he probably would mind, but screw it if you’re not feeling well then he can just get over himself.”

I laughed. “Eren I’m fine! I swear.” I mischievous smile touched my lips. “But you won’t be after I kick your ass this next round!”

The concern on his face disappeared at my playful remark, and was replaced with competitive determination. “Well we’ll see about that!”

We both shifted and raced towards each other. Eren leaped in the air, immediately taking the offensive, so I decided to respond defensively with a dodge to the side. However, when I tried to dodge my body suddenly felt heavy, and my feet seemed to be glued to the ground.

Eren must have been expecting me to dodge as well because he looked surprised as he made contact with my body and we both tumbled to the ground.

Blinding pain shot through my gut and I cried out in pain. I looked down at my stomach to see blood pouring out of a gaping gunshot wound.

Another wave of pain swept over me and I felt like I was going to throw up.

“Eren run!” I screamed. I tried to scream again, but the fog was back, suffocating me.

I needed to find Eren. I needed to warn him that we were all in grave danger, but my vision was blinded by a harsh, white light.

“Hey! Hey wake up!” a distant voice yelled. Someone was calling to me from beyond the light, but I couldn’t recognize the voice. Who were they? Why were they so far away? I tried to make sense of the situation, but it was difficult to think through the pain.

The voice called again, “Heeeeeeyyyy sleepyhead! Wake up!” Wake up? I was awake wasn’t I? I strained against the fog in my head and tried to think, but the pain was just so overwhelming.

“WAKE. UP.”

My eyes flew open and a rush of adrenaline caused me to instinctively lash out at whatever was in front of me. However, my arms were restrained behind my back, and the motion only managed to send another wave of pain coursing through my stomach.

I moaned and fell weakly back to the ground. I glanced around groggily, and moaned again when I realized that I was not actually in my village, but in some strange place that I didn’t recognize.

“Oh good you’re still alive! Now slow down there, wolfie. I’m sure that silver bullet in your stomach probably doesn’t feel too good and any movement has gotta hurt like a bitch.” It was the same voice from my dream and I looked up to examine who had spoken. She had red-hair and glasses and her face was currently fixing me with a comprehensive, analytical expression as if I was a rather difficult problem she was trying to figure out. A few feet behind her stood a tan, freckled woman with black hair who looked like she would rather be anywhere else but here.

Where exactly “here” was, I had no idea. I was in an exorbitantly white room with stainless white walls and white floors. There were intensely bright lights on the ceiling that made the whole room seem to glow with an iridescent quality. Despite the strong odor of disinfectant, there was also a nagging musty smell, as if someone had just cleaned a room that hadn’t been used in a very long time.

The only objects in the small space were a few wheeled, metal tables with sharp implements and odd looking tools whose purpose I didn’t even want to guess. The tables were lined up next to a narrow, steel door.

The most striking think about the room was the enormous window that took over the upper half of a wall, but the odd thing about it was that it didn’t view the outside like a normal window. It looked over another white room with rows of cabinets and a desk. It made me feel small and vulnerable as if I was in a giant cage waiting to be studied and observed.

_What the hell?_

I was hesitant to move too much with the deep ache in my stomach, but I could tell that I was in the corner of the room on the uncomfortably hard floor. I could also tell from the biting pain in my wrists and ankles that my hands and feet were tightly bound by chains.

As I took in my surroundings, my groggy mind was still trying to recall how I had gotten there. I had been in my village early in the morning. I had woken up after hearing a noise and had gone outside to see what was going on. Then…

All the events from the attack on my village came flooding back into my memory at the same instant that the heavy scent of vampire invaded my senses. I could remember walking outside and seeing the blurred outline of black figures moving against the dark night sky. The black figures had been fighting each other – werewolf against vampire. There was blood everywhere, so much blood. I remember launching myself at the first vampire I saw and then registering the sound of a gunshot going off right before feeling a burning sensation in my stomach. After that I don’t remember much at all.

Fear and adrenaline rushed through my body as I realized that these vampires standing a few feet away must have kidnapped me and brought me back to their lair.

I screamed and struggled desperately at the chains, my scream catching in my throat as more shooting pain shot through my stomach. I started to feel dizzy and I could see my vision going blurry, but I kept wrestling with my bindings knowing that escape was my first priority. If I could just get these things off of me, and make it to the door…

Something heavy bashed into my stomach, right into my wound, and I made a choking sound as agony ripped through my stomach.

“Shut the fuck up already.” A voice barked sharply. “Hanji what the hell is this?”

“Calm down Ymir. It’s obviously not much of a threat,” the vampire called Hanji reassured Ymir, the one that had kicked me. “This is one of the werewolves that you brought back from the hit on that werewolf pack.”

“I know. Why the fuck is it still alive?” snapped Ymir.

“Well I mean it’s more dead than alive. It’s got a silver bullet lodged in its stomach,” Hanji corrected.

“Hanji,” Ymir growled.

“Ok ok! We’re going to be doing some scientific experimenting on this werewolf and you’re going to be my assistant!” Hanji enthused cheerily.

“Over my dead body,” I spat at them. No way in hell was I going to let them experiment on me. I wasn’t some test subject for them to prick and prod.

Ymir was glaring at me. “That can definitely be arranged wolfshit.”

“Ymir chill,” Hanji warned. “I brought you here to assist, not to kill my test subject.”

The red-haired one seemed to be somewhat reasonable and a lot less volatile than freckles so I decided that I would address her to see if I could get some answers.

Making eye contact with the red-haired vampire, I started to bombard her with quesions.

“Tell me where my friends are. Where is the rest of my pack? What did you do to them?” I tried to put on my most threatening voice, but I was weak and felt like I was about to pass out from blood loss, so it ended up sounding more like a choked whisper.

Ymir’s eyes darkened and she strode towards me. “We gave them exactly what those fuckers deserved.” She put her foot on my wound and I cried out in pain. “We killed every single one of your little werewolf friends and it was my pleasure to shoot them all through the head.”

“No you didn’t. You’re lying!” I shouted at her. “You filthy vampires. I hate you! I hate yo…” I started coughing up blood before I could finish.

Ymir scoffed. “Yeah the feeling is mutual.”

“Uh-uh-uh no fighting in the lab kiddies,” Hanji interjected. “Ymir we have some work to do here. If we want to actually have a test subject to test, we have to extract that silver bullet.” A dramatic expression spread across her features. “The game is afoot Ymir!”

“Game?”

“…Fetch me my scalpel! We have to start getting this bullet out.”

“No, get away from me.” I wanted more than anything to shift into a wolf and let those vampires feel my teeth and claws, but I was just too weak and blackness was starting to cloud my vision. At least the pain in my stomach was starting to go numb…

The last thing I remember is Ymir grabbing one of the tools from the table before blacking out completely.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked that chapter! Was it worth waiting 5 months for? Yeah don't answer that...
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	13. Puzzle Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> NIGHTMARES. SELF-LOATHING. INTERROGATION WITH A BEATING (NO BLOOD)
> 
> Here is the other chapter as promised!

 

~ Levi ~

 

“I do think you inflict pain on others for no reason because you…you’re just like _them_.”

My entire body seemed to be paralyzed as I lay sprawled across the ground at the complete mercy of the recruit who couldn’t land a single punch on me earlier. Even now it wasn’t his strength or combative skill that had rendered me helpless.

It was his eyes.

His eyes burned with an intensity that I had only seen twice in my entire life. The first was when I was a boy. The cold loathing in his eyes transported me back to a time that I had tried so hard to forget. When I looked into those eyes, I was a terrified boy again who was standing over his parents’ dead bodies and looking up into the bloodthirsty eyes of the werewolf that had murdered them. The second time was recently at the raid on the werewolf camp. Julian’s eyes were a different color than the russet brown werewolf – an emerald green instead of yellow – but they held that same hatred. They burned with such wrath that it was almost as if this boy thought that I had personally been the one to murder his family and friends.

He was utterly entrancing.

Suddenly the eyes were gone and the spell was broken. I didn’t even realize I had gotten up and started sprinting in an aimless direction until I had almost run straight into a wall.

I stopped myself just in time, but I was still so dazed that I ended up leaning up against the wall and slid slowly down to the ground.

 _What the fuck had just happened?_ One second I was storming away from the new bratty recruit and the next second I was on the ground having the most vivid flashback I had ever had in my entire life. The most surprising thing was that it was the arrogant little shit that had triggered it. It was the same little shit that I had easily overcome during training and was about as threatening as a baby bunny.

I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. The things that the kid had said sounded so familiar. The whole thing about seeing his family slaughtered right in front of him and seeing their dead faces every time he closed his eyes basically summed up my life to a T.

I hated to admit it but that snot nosed brat and I actually had something in common.

I hated even more to admit that I also felt guilty as hell. I had been way too hard on him. He was just a kid and here I was pushing him past his limit on his first day of training at an unfamiliar base. Not only that, but he had first hand experience with losing loved ones at the hands of werewolves and I had to go and lecture him about the danger of werewolves when he knew exactly how dangerous they really were.

Worst of all, I told him he didn’t understanding anything when he probably understood me more than anyone else. He understood how much it hurts to have your closest friends and family members ripped away from you for no reason other than being born a vampire. He understood how the pain never ebbs no matter how much time passes and no matter how desperately you just want to feel normal. He understood what it’s like to try and be strong when you wake up every day feeling like you’re going to break inside.

Yet at the same time, there were many things I didn’t understand about the brat. He was a downright paradox. One second, he’s a hot-tempered, arrogant kid with serious defiance issues and then just now he was a vulnerable victim with a tortured past.

Except it wasn’t just that he was vulnerable and tortured. I mean he was, but it was like all his horrible experiences hadn’t broken him. They had damaged him, but they hadn’t deterred his spirit in the slightest. It seemed like he had become even stronger as a result of his past, and was prepared to face his demons head on if given the chance.

I was almost envious of him. I was no stranger to tragedy and dark pasts, but I knew that I had become weaker as a result of my experiences. I still have nightmares about an incident that occurred when I was a boy. I can’t even think about Petra without feeling so profoundly guilty I get nauseous. I distance myself from others, not because I’m apathetic like everyone believes, but because I’m a coward. I don’t want to get close to someone only to have them ripped away from me again.

However, the most curious thing about Julian was the fact that he seemed hell bent on despising me. I mean I was used to people despising me - my crude, tactless personality wasn’t exactly a people pleaser – but I had always done something to justify their animosity. This kid hated me from the get-go. The moment he first saw me his eyes were already filled with a loathing that I would only expect to see from my most bitter rivals.

It was so frustrating. Julian was like a puzzle that I was trying so hard to piece together, but I couldn’t because some of the pieces were missing.

I couldn’t help but wonder what those pieces could be.

 

~ Eren ~

 

I could hear the heavy sound of rain start to come down and hammer against the buildings as I lay sprawled out on my bed staring up at the ceiling. The raindrops seemed determined to pound into the building as if that force alone was enough to tear down the impenetrable metal structures. I half wished that would happen; if nothing else than to show that these vampires weren’t completely all-powerful beings.

I immediately thought of Corporal Levi who emanated power and raw authority in everything that he did. It was evident in his stance, his movements, his voice, and even his eyes that skimmed over everyone as if they were an insignificant piece of dust; the way he could incapacitate me in moments, or render me speechless in just a few sentences. However, the most intimidating thing about Levi was that I had absolutely no idea what he was thinking.

I had gone straight to my quarters after my encounter with Levi and I had been trying to sort out my thoughts ever since. I could’ve sworn he had figured out who I was, but he had the opportunity to kill me and he didn’t. If he knew what I really was – the bane of the vampire’s entire existence – I wouldn’t be alive right now. He would have killed me instantly without even a second thought if he knew I was a werewolf. I had no doubt in my mind about that. The fact that I’m still alive must mean that he still thinks I’m one of them. I guess I hadn’t been as obvious in my revelations as I had originally thought. He must not have put two and two together and didn’t realize that I had been referring to his attack on my village. But if that’s the case, then why did he just leave? Wouldn’t he have at least kicked my ass for tackling him to the ground? I didn’t know much about the man, but he definitely did not seem like the type to let a subordinate lay a hand on him without consequences. He even seemed to enjoy beating the shit out of me at training and he had the perfect excuse to do it again just a little while ago.

At least I had _thought_ he had enjoyed it. He’s given me every reason to believe that he’s a sadistic son of a bitch that enjoys killing and inflicting pain on others, but when I confronted him about it he had gotten so defensive. He had acted like he had been kicking my ass for my own good. He even implied that he actually _cared_ what happens to me. Yeah right.

But that didn’t make sense either because I thought I had seen a hint of compassion in his eyes when he saw me after my panic attack. I mean I must have imagined it. That was the only explanation…

My mind suddenly came up with another solution that put all the puzzle pieces in place. This must be some kind of twisted, vampiric mind game that he was playing with me. Of course. He was trying to trick me into thinking that he is kind and compassionate so that he could easily manipulate me. It is after all in the vampire nature to lie and manipulate others to do their evil bidding.

That _must_ be it.

I almost laughed out loud at how ridiculous I had been. How could I have possibly thought even for a moment that a vampire could have compassion? Even more so, how could I have connected Levi with an emotion as contradictory with his character as compassion? He had been there that day; the day that had been haunting me ever since and will probably haunt me for the rest of my life. He had killed who knows how many of my friends, family and neighbors. He invaded my _home_. He might have been the one to kill…

My heart panged at the thought of my mother and Armin - a deep ache like reopening a wound that never fully healed. The pain, anguish and rage that I had felt that day coursed through my body and I realized with perfect clarity exactly what vampires were. There was only one thing they could be. There was only one thing that could extinguish the lives of such beautiful people so ruthlessly.

Vampires were _demons_ and that’s all they could ever be.

 

~ Levi ~

 

“Corporal! Corporal, wait up!” A silvery voice called, slightly out of breath from chasing me.

I had been about to harshly reprimand whoever had been following behind me so loudly – something along the lines of _you could wake up this entire base with that racket_ \- but I recognized the distinctive, gentle voice and the urge instantly dissipated.

Instead, I turned and looked at the red-headed girl who had finally caught up to me. “Come on Petra. We’ve chased werewolves for miles on foot and you’re out of breath after a little jog across the training field?” My tone was teasing, but the effect was softened by the slight smile playing at the corners of my mouth.

She raised her eyebrows in mock indignation and shot me a playful smile. “I seem to remember outpacing you during our last mission Corporal, or have you already forgotten?”

“I thought you knew I _let_ you take the lead on that mission.”

Her laugh rang throughout the clearing. “Oh of course. Because it’s just impossible that the ‘Great Levi’ could be outrun by anybody - let alone his subordinate.” She paused, her eyes glistening with amusement. “ _Or_ maybe just he doesn’t want to admit that he was bested by a tiny girl.”

“Shhh,” I said putting my finger to my lips, shooting her a teasing wink. “I have a reputation to uphold.”

She gave me a fond smile before pulling out a package from behind her back. “Well birthday boy, you’re secret is safe with me.”

I eyed the package warily. “No Petra, I really don’t want any gifts. I don’t celebrate my birthday anymore.” I left out the part about how I hadn’t celebrated my birthday since my parents died. Petra didn’t know about my past and I wasn’t about to tell her. I couldn’t bear to see that inevitable look of pity taint her face, knowing that I was the one that had put it there. I knew she looked up to me and I didn’t want to ruin her image of me with a display of weakness.

“How did you even find out about my birthday?” I was genuinely curious. I never told anyone when my birthday was. The only person who knew that information was…

“Erwin told me.”

I rolled my eyes. Of course he did. Yet another thing to add to my very extensive list of ‘Shit I hate about Erwin.’

Petra gave me an apologetic look. “Sorry I know you’re a private person, but…” She paused to hold out the package tentatively, as if unsure whether I was going to accept it or not. “Everyone deserves to get a gift on their birthday.”

I looked down at the package she was holding. It was wrapped in plain brown paper, but she had tried to make it look more appealing by drawing little stars over the entire thing. Across the center, the words ‘Happy Birthday, Corporal!’ were written in swirling letters.

I sighed in defeat, and took the package from her. A huge grin split across her face and she looked like she was about to bounce up and down from excitement.

“See ya at training tomorrow Corporal!” She gave me a little wave before turning around to head back in the direction she came.

“Wait Petra,” I called after her.

She stopped in her tracks and turned back around. “Yeah?”

“Um, thanks. You know. For the gift.” I scratched my head awkwardly and I could tell a light blush was starting to creep into my cheeks.

She grinned even wider. “Happy birthday, Corporal.” She waved again before turning around and walking away, her red hair swaying as she went.

I chuckled to myself. Only Petra would go to such lengths to find out someone’s birthday solely for the purpose of being able to give them a birthday gift. I looked back down at the package and went to open it.

Only it was covered in blood.

My eyes widened in horror just before a strangled scream echoed throughout the area.

I whirled around and realized I was back at the werewolf village. I had turned around just in time to see the russet brown werewolf tear into Petra’s throat. Thick red blood gushed from her neck and stained the werewolf’s muzzle a deep crimson color. The wolf threw her body aside like she was garbage and then turned to face me, its face twisting into a sneer.

Suddenly the wolf was gone, and Julian was standing in its place.

“This is your fault,” he accused. “You did this. Look at what you let happen to your own subordinate. You were responsible for her and you let her die. Did you even consider her a friend? Did you even care about her? You let the werewolf that murdered her escape and you didn’t do anything about it.” I tried to respond and make him understand that I did care about her and that I was going to avenge her death no matter what it takes, but for some reason I couldn’t make my mouth form the words.

Julian threw his head back and laughed – a sickening sound that made my blood run cold. “I knew it. You never cared about her. You don’t care about anyone. If you cared about her you wouldn’t have let that beast kill her. You only care about yourself, you selfish scum. How can you live with yourself huh? How can you live knowing that you’re the reason why Petra is dead? It’s your fault. It’s _YOUR FAULT_.”

I awoke to the sounds of thunder and my own desperate gasping for breath. I sat there for a few agonizing minutes, holding my head in my hands, and tried to slow down my ragged breathing.

After while, my brain eventually caught up with reality as I realized that it had all been just a nightmare.

I found myself being slightly disappointed. Everything had felt normal again. Petra had been alive and she had looked so _real_. I could hear her voice again. I could see her lovely smile again and listen to her laugh again.

And I watched her die again.

My breath hitched in my throat as the images of her bloodied body came flooding back and I tried to focus on getting my breathing under control.

When my breathing had finally slowed down, I went to lie back down only to find that my clothes and sheets were absolutely drenched in sweat.

God that’s disgusting.

I sat up shakily and forced myself to get up and take a shower. I turned the water to scalding hot – the way I liked it - and I let the water rain down and sear into my skin.

My mind started to wander back to my nightmare. I remember that day with Petra clearly. It was one of my best memories of her and my subconscious had to go and fuck it up.

I groaned and let my head fall back so that the water was hitting my face.

“It’s my fault,” I whispered to myself. “It’s all my fault.” I was the leader of my squad, so I was responsible for their lives. It was my duty to protect them and ensure their safety. It was my duty as Petra’s commanding officer.

“And as her friend,” I told myself bitterly. The word felt sour on my tongue. I didn’t deserve her friendship when I had failed her so _insurmountably_ – so _unforgivably_.

I thought with a sudden clarity that it should have been me who died. Every breath I took was a sick reminder that it was another breath Petra would never take. What difference did it make that I was alive? The world wasn’t a better place with me in it. I was just another broken, war-ridden soldier who had lost every ounce of hope that the future could bring anything other than more pain and suffering.

But Petra was different than people like me. She was strong. She had suffered through heartbreak and tragedy just like everyone else living in these times, but she hadn’t let it consume her. She had somehow managed to hold her ground against the misery plaguing everyone else and was able to spread cheer and happiness like it was as natural as breathing. Her spirit shone so brilliantly that you couldn’t help but believe her when she spoke optimistically of the future. You could believe her because how could the world be all that terrible when there was a person like her living in it? If someone so caring, selfless, and righteous could exist in this world then it couldn’t be all that bad right?

That all ended when Petra died. When I saw her throat being ripped out by a werewolf, I could almost physically feel her light being extinguished from the world forever. The last flame of hope within me died when Petra did. The world would always be a dark place now that she was gone.

And the world would continue to be a dark place every second the werewolf that cut Petra’s life short was still alive and breathing. I knew I couldn’t bring her back to life and I knew I couldn’t go back in time to fix my mistakes no matter how desperately I wished that I could.

But I could avenge her death. I could kill the demon that had committed such an irrevocable sin.

No, I _will_ kill that creature. Even if it’s the last thing that I ever do.

_I swear it._

I quickly finished my shower and got dressed, feeling energized with a renewed sense of purpose. In order to avenge Petra I needed to find that werewolf somehow. I could blindly try and track it down by scent, but that would take time.

No, there was a much easier, much better way.

They key to finding Petra’s killer was sitting down in the dungeons.

 

~ Mikasa ~

 

My eyelids felt so heavy and the idea of sleep was almost too tempting to resist. However, instead of giving into my body’s aching desire for rest, I forced myself to stay awake. Sleeping would leave me totally defenseless if any vampires decided to come pay me a visit and I didn’t want to be in a compromised state when they did.

Time moves pretty slowly when you’re locked in a prison cell, but if my sense of time is accurate, I’ve been in this hellhole for about two days now. I’ve only been visited once by a random vampire who left right after slipping a plate of food and jug of water through the cell bars. If they’re feeding me then I know they need me for alive for some purpose and it didn’t take a genius to guess what that purpose could be.

Death almost seemed more inviting than sitting here imagining all the gruesome things they could do to me. I knew that the vampires were planning on killing me eventually, but they weren’t going to do it before they had their fill of torture and interrogation. They were going to keep me alive until they had extracted as much in formation from me as they could, and only when I was utterly miserable and begging for death would they finally end my life.

I wasn’t going to even bother with the futile effort of attempting to escape. I knew I didn’t even have an ounce of hope for my survival. There was no chance of escaping this ridiculously secure fortress and even if I did manage to escape, I didn’t know if I had any friends or family to go back to.

I had been desperately suppressing the idea that Eren and Mom might have been killed during the attack on our village, but reality was starting to sink in. Both Eren and Mom would move heaven and Earth for their family and friends, and the likelihood that they actually decided to run away and save their own lives was very slim. That just wasn’t in their nature. They would stay and fight to protect their loved ones, even if it meant sacrificing their own lives.

I could feel tears start to trail down my face. I thought of the last time I had seen Armin lying motionless with a single bullet hole over his heart, and pictured Eren and Mom ending up the same way. The thought that my beautiful mother and my carefree, idiot brother were no longer in this world made my heart feel like it was physically being ripped to pieces. I couldn’t help but let out a small sob.

“Eren…” I whispered. “Please be alive.”

“What was that?”

An abrasive voice cut through the silence and my head snapped up. I realized that someone was leaning up against the bars of my cell. My heart dropped when I realized it was the vampire from earlier. The one named Levi.

I was expecting him to make some kind of sarcastic comment to torment me like he did when we were riding on the horse, but all he said was a brusque, “unlock her cell.”

I looked over and saw that there were two more vampires standing next to Levi. They moved to obey his command and I heard a sharp _click_ as they unlocked the door to my cell.

He strode into the cell and looked me over for a moment before turning to the other vampires. “Chain her.”

 

A second later I was yanked to my feet, and I suddenly felt very heavy as weighted iron cuffs were fastened around my wrists and ankles, securing me to the wall with short lengths of chains. The restraints were enough to give me limited movement, but not enough to move more than a couple of feet away from the wall.

The two vampires finished locking my chains and, after receiving a pointed glare from Levi, they quickly left the cell shutting the doors behind them. Now it was just me and him alone in the cell. The silence filled with metal clanging as I pulled against my bindings and lunged at Levi. Now was the time to strike when it could be a one-on-one battle.

I was only a little disappointed to find that the chains pulled taut when I was just a hair away from Levi. I had figured as much.

I looked at his face expecting a mocking expression or perhaps a condescending glare, but was surprised to see neither. He had a look of sheer determination on his face, and the intensity of his gaze threw me off for a second. This seemed like a completely different vampire than the one I had met on the horse. Last time I had seen him, he had been trying to instill fear and antagonize me. This time he was all business and his new, gravitas demeanor was even more intimidating.

We stood there in silence for a few moments, sizing the other up, before I curtly addressed him. “We both know why you’re here so cut the silent shit and just get it over with.”

His eyes narrowed and his voice was deep and serious when he spoke. “Tell me the location of the russet brown werewolf.”

 _Russet brown. A russet brown werewolf._ There were several brown werewolves in our pack, but there was only one with distinctively dark reddish-brown fur.

_Eren_

The air rushed from my lungs, and I suddenly forgot how to breathe as my mind struggled to process this information.

_Eren. Eren! It could be him! He could be alive!_

My entire body felt like it was floating and my very core seemed to sing as the hopelessness I was feeling moments before was transformed into elation. I was sure my happiness was blatantly apparent on my face, but I couldn’t stop smiling. Eren was alive and that’s all that mattered.

The vampire’s eyes narrowed with realization as he took in my reaction.

“Tell me where he is,” Levi repeated tersely. He was trying to sound apathetic, but I could detect a hint of desperation in his tone.

I smiled defiantly at him and my voice was mocking when I replied, “Well I guess you’re out of luck. I have never seen a werewolf like that before in my entire life.”

His mouth twitched infinitesimally at my overt lie. Suddenly an iron-like fist connected with my cheek and my face erupted in pain. Not even a second later, he kneed my in the stomach, causing me to cry out and double over in agony.

Before I could catch my breath, he had me by my hair and he was jerking my head back sharply. His mouth hovered next to my ear and I could feel his icy breath against my skin.

“I’m going to find the son of a bitch no matter what, but you can save yourself a lot of pain and suffering if you just tell me where he is,” he hissed. The desperation was seeping into his voice now and I could tell his cool exterior was starting to break. He really wanted Eren for some reason and I did not want to think about what this vampire would do to him if he found him.

I jerked out of his hold on me and looked him directly in the eye. My voice was low and unwavering when I spoke. “If you think I would tell you where he is even if I knew, then you are highly underestimating me vampire. Go ahead. Torture me. Interrogate me. The only thing you’re going to learn is how useless your efforts are.”

He held my gaze for a few moments, the frustration evident on his face. Then he briskly turned away and stormed out of my cell, slamming the door behind him.

As soon as he left, I didn’t waste a single second moping and despairing like I had been earlier. If Eren was still alive, then I had a reason to live. I refused to let myself rot down here while Eren was out there somewhere being hunted by the vampires. Even if there was no way to escape this place, I was going to damn well give it my best shot or die trying. I was going to do everything in my power to escape, so that I could find my brother and protect him.

_I’m coming Eren._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So instead of writing a super fancy end note I'm gonna go get started on editing those chapters for you guys. You all know I love you and I hope you enjoyed this chapter blah blah blah. XD


	14. A Risky Endeavor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> A FEW MENTIONS OF BLOOD. ONE MENTION OF PANIC ATTACKS THAT OCCURRED IN THE PAST.
> 
> It was a tough battle everyone. It was me versus my horrible spelling and grammar, but I emerged victorious!!! I think... I really hope so... If there are still, somehow spelling errors/grammar errors/me being stupid errors then... TAKE ME FOR WHAT I AAAAAM! WHO I WAS MEANT TO BEEEEE! Ok, ANYWAYS, here is the next update my precious cinnamon rolls! There is actually some action in this chapter! *gasp* I know, I know my last few chapters have been pretty boring...I'm sorry I gotta put that internal dialogue somewhere. Don't you want the character development? Oh, you're just here for the ereri feels? It's ok, I still love you. <3 <3 <3
> 
> ALSO THANK YOU FOR ALL THE NICE THINGS YOU GUYS HAVE SAID ABOUT MY STORY! THEY MEAN SO MUCH TO ME AND I JUST AKKK THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT EVERYONE!!!! You inspire me to keep writing when I am about three seconds away from throwing my laptop across the room in frustration. YOU ALL ROCK!!!!

 

~ Eren ~

 

When I woke up in the morning, my eyes seemed to be glued shut.

I had been up most of the night thinking – not about Levi of course – and now my body was facing the consequences. I could probably sleep the rest of the day if I just kept my eyes closed and the tantalizing thought made me snuggle even deeper into my blankets.

However, I really couldn’t miss training when it was only my second day here at the vampire base. I wonder what they did to recruits who didn’t attend trainings? I would probably get kicked off the squad or, at the very least, Levi would probably beat the shit out of me again.

My muscles ached from training yesterday, and the thought of another beating was enough to get me to begrudgingly force my eyes open and sit up.

Before I could do anything else, my stomach made a very angry rumbling sound. Oh right, I should probably eat something. The thought of another bloodweed meal made me want to gag, but it was either that or blood from the vampire cafeteria and suddenly bloodweed didn't sound so bad after all.

I rolled out of bed and opened up the drawer in my dresser containing my extra uniform. Pushing the uniform aside, I uncovered my stash of bloodweed. It wasn’t the best hiding place and if someone really wanted to find it they could. Then again there wasn’t really anywhere better to hide the incriminating evidence in my dingy quarters which consisted of a bed and a dresser. I doubt anyone would ever bother to search the room of a lowly foot soldier, so I decided not to dwell on the thought.

I weighed the leafy plant in my hand to measure out a ration for today. I had to consume enough to hide the scent of my blood, but leave enough for tomorrow. After a few moments of careful measurement with only some slight guesswork I realized that I had just enough to last me today.

Well shit.

That meant by tomorrow there would be nothing preventing the hundreds of hungry vampires in this base from smelling my blood and making a feast of me for their next meal. The gruesome images of vampires clamping down on my neck and slowly draining my life away sent shiver raking down my spine.

I would have brought more bloodweed if I had known how long I would have to stay here. When I originally made this insane plan, I really only expected to be here for one day. If I had a little more experience with undercover, rescue ventures I probably would have known that it takes more than just one day to break prisoners out of a high security enemy camp. Surprisingly, I’ve never actually come across this kind of situation before so note to self: it takes more than just one day to break prisoners out of high security enemy camps.

One reason for my preconceived notion was that I hadn’t originally realized how huge these vampire bases were. Being the naïve person I am, I guess I had just assumed there would be a building labeled “Werewolf Prisoners Held Here” or something blatantly obvious like that. Instead, there were a million identical grey buildings with no distinguishing features whatsoever. They might as well have put Mikasa and Christa in a maze for how difficult this rescue mission was turning out to be.

Another factor I hadn’t anticipated was that I didn’t actually have that much time to spend looking for Mikasa and Christa. If I wanted to blend in with these vampires, I would have to participate in their trainings, and that alone took up most of the day. I didn’t dare try to do any reconnaissance during the day because if I was caught - which was very likely considering glaring sunlight and stealth usually didn’t go too well together - there would be no explaining my way out of that situation. I didn’t exactly know how the vampires guarded their base during the day, but I’m sure they had a way; otherwise, they would have already been vanquished by now. Mikasa and Christa were depending on me, and I wasn’t going to fail them just because I made a rookie mistake like underestimating the vampires. That was something the old Eren would do. This Eren – the Eren dedicated to revenge – wasn’t going to make any stupid mistakes. Well, at least I hadn’t yet, so that was saying something.

The point was I had already come this far in my crazy scheme, so I was going to take my time and do it right.

That meant I would probably have to stay here for much, much longer than I had originally anticipated.

In that case, I really only had one option. I would have to somehow sneak out of this heavily guarded military base, get more bloodweed, and make it back before tomorrow. Since I had to go to training right now, I would have to do this suicide mission later tonight.

I glanced at the clock to see how much time I had left before training, and my jaw dropped open in horror.

7:10.

Training started ten minutes ago.

I threw on my uniform and raced out the door as if Satan himself was coming to drag me to the underworld.

It was going to be a fun day.

 

~ Levi ~

 

_Damnit!_

I groaned and ran my hands through my hair in frustration. That fucking werewolf was so damn stubborn! Doesn’t she know what position she’s in? Doesn’t she realize what I’ll have to do to her if she doesn’t give me the information I need? I don’t particularly mind torturing a werewolf, but I could tell this wolf was going to be an especially hard one to break. She hadn’t told me explicitly that she knew anything about the werewolf that had killed Petra, but her facial expressions and body language had spoken volumes. It was obvious that the russet brown werewolf was somehow special to her, so if I was going to get any information from her regarding that werewolf, it was going to take a lot of torture and a lot of time. Even then I couldn’t guarantee that she would tell me anything of use. I was a lot of things, but patient was not one of them and my patience was already wearing thin.

I stepped out of the building where the werewolf was being imprisoned and into the storm outside. The rain was coming down hard, soaking my clothes within moments, but I didn’t mind. Every raindrop that landed on me, gliding down my skin, sent a chill through me reminding me that I could feel something besides rage, guilt, and heartache. Closing my eyes, I let the rain overwhelm my senses, and suddenly nothing else seemed to matter. It was just me and the rain.

“Well, well would you look who it is. What a pleasure running into you here, Levi.”

And just like that, my blissful trance was over.

I scowled at the man who had an uncanny ability to get on my nerves. “I wouldn’t exactly call this a pleasure, Erwin. In fact, I think the word you’re looking for is irritating actually. There’s also aggravating, exasperating, annoying, etcetera. Take your pick.”

He let out an exuberant laugh as if I had told a joke, and didn’t just outright state that I couldn’t stand being around him.

“Oh, Levi. You seem to be in a good mood as always.” He put a hand on his hip and smiled, striking a pose that would look ridiculous on anyone else, but somehow seemed to work for him. If I didn’t despise the guy so much, I might have actually been attracted to him.

I swear it was like he could read my mind because his expression suddenly became incredibly smug. It was unsettling.

I shivered, trying to shake off that eerie feeling I got whenever I was around him.

“Not that I wouldn’t love to stay and chat, but I think I would rather go have an orgy with some werewolves and then throw myself off a cliff.” I started to briskly walk away in the opposite direction, but he effortlessly caught up to me with two strides. Damn tall people.

“Aw come on, Levi. Don’t be like that. I just want to see how you’re doing.” He stepped in front of me, blocking my path. “You are one of my best officers, after all.”

“I _am_ your best and you know it,” I quickly shot back.

He gave me a patronizing smile, like he was trying to reason with a difficult child. “Of course. I didn’t mean to say otherwise.” Yes you fucking did, bastard.

“What is it Erwin? You better get to the fucking point soon, or I will punch you and forcibly remove you from my path. You know I will.” I smirked as I referenced the time when I punched him in the face after he had tried to make small-talk with me. I mean he was asking for it. I can barely tolerate the man as it is and the whole, ‘Excellent weather today huh Corporal?’ had just pushed my anger over the edge. I had actually managed to catch him off guard, and the slight bruise it left on his cheek was completely worth having my badge suspended for a month.

His lip twitched almost imperceptibly, the only sign that I was starting to get under skin. His voice, however, betrayed no emotion. “I apologize. It was not my intention to waste your time.” Suddenly, his carefully neutral expression transformed into a visage of charm, his white teeth practically glowing in the dark. He knew something, and I could tell he was about to use it against me. “I was just curious as to how you’re getting along with the new recruit.” He tilted his head innocently. “Julian, wasn’t it?”

I glowered at him. He must have found out about me and Julian’s less than perfect introduction yesterday. How much did he know? Did he know about what had happened after training?

I refused to give him the satisfaction of admitting just how badly the events of yesterday played out, so I instead replied casually, “Fine. He seems like a great kid.” I internally groaned when my voice came out a bit too high-pitched to be natural.

He raised his eyebrows dubiously. “Really? That’s not what I heard.” His sharp blue eyes were sparkling.

“If you knew already, then why did you ask?” I snapped, my patience evaporating. He was enjoying this, and it was irritating the hell out of me.

He raised his hand in an attempt to placate me. “Relax. I just thought maybe I could help. I’m here for you, Levi.”

“Please spare me that sappy bullshit. We both know you’re loving this. You love watching me fall apart at the hands of that kid. No, you just love watching me fall apart in general. You love it now, and you loved it when you found me half dead in that human village. I’m just a source of entertainment for you, aren’t I? This is all just some big joke to you. ‘Oh let’s take in the kid whose life was ruined by werewolves to make a living killing werewolves.’ That would be so _fucking hilarious_.”

I was shaking after I finished speaking the words I had long been wanting to say, and I took in a shuddering breath. Only Erwin could do this to me. I _hated_ him.

The worst part was this man that I despised so much has seen me at my most vulnerable – depressed, alone, starving, dying on the streets. I mean back after my parents died, I couldn’t even attack a human without having horrible panic attacks. I was the vampire who couldn’t stand the sight of blood. I probably would have died in that village if Erwin hadn’t found me and taken me in to train as a soldier. He put me in his debt and I would never forgive him for that.

His expression was inscrutable as he took in my shaken state. “I’m sorry you feel that way.” He turned to leave, but paused to look over his should and add, “My office is always open if you ever want to come vis-.”

“Erwin.” I cut him off sharply. How dare he carry on that pretense when I had just called him out on his bullshit. He was mocking me.

I decided not to articulate my thoughts, knowing that discussion would only unnerve me more and serve to his benefit, so instead I returned to my normal, impervious manner. “Tell Hanji to oversee training today. I have some business to attend to.”

He raised a hand to indicate that he had heard me, and continued walking away.

Shaking away the lingering fury that conversations with Erwin always induced, I started to make my way towards the science labs.

 

~ Eren ~

 

I was panting by the time I arrived at the training field. Based on what I knew about Levi – which was very little actually – I, nonetheless, had a very strong feeling that he didn’t take tardiness lightly.

I braced myself for a lecture, but was surprised when Levi was nowhere to be seen.

Ymir noticed me first and piped up, “Julian, it’s only you’re second day of training and you’re already late. You’re going to need to step it up.” Her tone was flippant, but I could tell from the amused glisten in her eyes that her comment was meant to be lighthearted. “You’re lucky Levi is late today too,” she went on. “It’s pretty strange actually. He’s never late. He’s usually obsessively punctual.”

A chorus of fervent agreement rose from the rest of the trainees.

“Do you think the Corporal is ok?” Marco asked worriedly. “It’s not normal for him to be late at all, let alone 20 minutes late.”

Jean scoffed. “Not normal? He would spontaneously combust before he arrived 20 minutes late to training. Something _really_ big must have come up.” I could tell he instantly regretted saying that when Marco’s face creased with concern. He quickly added, “B-but I’m sure he’s fine. The Corporal can handle himself.”

“You are right-o about that youngster!” I didn’t recognize the voice and whirled around to see who had spoken.

She was a red-haired vampire with chunky rimmed glasses and an excited, almost manic, expression on her face.

“Hanji? What are you doing here?” Eld asked, the curiosity evident in his tone. I guess it was an unusual occurrence for Hanji to show up at trainings.

“Levi has some business to take care of, so I’m his replacement for the day!” Hanji whooped. “We are going to have soooooo much fun! Oh, we could talk about science! Who wants to start?” She stopped just long enough to take a breath before continuing. “Ok I will! Did you know that a potato has more chromosomes than vampires do? Isn’t that amazing?! Oh! Oh! And did you know that since clouds are made of ice crystals, they’re super heavy, and an average cumulus cloud weighs 1.1 million pounds! Oh! And did you kno-” Her gaze had wandered to where I was standing, and she froze mid-sentence.

She gasped and her eyes got so wide, it looked like they were popping out of her head. In the span of one second, she had sprinted over to me, and was now tightly squishing my cheeks between her hands.

“YOU MUST BE THE NEW KID! HI, I’M HANJI! IT’S SO NICE TO FINALLY MEET YOU!!!” She screamed at me, extremely loud considering I was mere inches away from her.

I rubbed my ears, trying to get the ringing to stop. “Um, hi? I’m Julian.”

“I KNOW!” She screamed again.

“Hanji, tone down the screaming. You’re gonna scare the poor kid,” Reiner laughed. “Sorry about her. She takes a bit to get used to.”

“I’ll say,” muttered Ymir. “She has more energy than a nuclear warhead.”

“Ok everyone calm down for a minute,” Gunther interjected. He was looking at Hanji suspiciously. “Hanji, did Levi say what his business was?”

“Nope! I didn't even talk to him. Erwin asked me a little while ago if I could train you guys just for today, and of course I said yes!” A thoughtful expression suddenly came over her face. “Well actually…now that I think about it I saw Levi head over to the dungeons today, so maybe it has something to do with that werewolf you captured during your last mission.”

I jerked my head in her direction so quickly I wouldn’t be surprised if I got whiplash. Mikasa and Christa. She had to be talking about them! But wait...Why did she only mention one werewolf?

“Didn’t we capture two werewolves?” asked Oluo, speaking my exact thoughts. “I distinctly remember because I had to carry them to the horses,” he included bitterly.

“Well one of them is in my lab for experimentation,” explained Hanji. “And the other one is in the dungeons for interrogation.”

A sense of euphoria seemed to swell throughout my entire body as I was overcome with relief. They were both alive. Mikasa and Christa were still alive.

The relief was quickly replaced with fear. Experimentation? Interrogation? That could not bode well for the prolonged survival of my sister and my friend. The vampires were going to exploit and torture them until they were no longer of any use, and then when that happens… I couldn’t bear to even think what would happen after that. I was going to rescue them both before it came to that. I _had_ to.

“Hey Julian, why does you’re face look so funny?” inquired Jean mockingly. Oh crap. I guess my horror had been displayed on my face. Why did I always have to be such an open book?!

Ymir barked out in laughter. “Oh you’re one to talk, horse-face.”

“My face _does not_ look like a horse!”

“Uh-huh. Sure, ponyboy.” Everyone laughed at her comment, and thankfully the attention was diverted away from me.

At least I had thought so. “You sure you’re ok, Julian?” Marco asked gently. “You do look a little pale. Do you still feel sick from yesterday?”

Ok, just play it cool Eren. Act. Natural.

“No I’m fine!” I said, my voice coming out as a high pitched squeak. Well, there goes playing it cool. I cleared my throat before continuing, an idea popping into my head. “Actually, uh, I’m pretty curious about the dungeons and the science labs. I haven’t seen much of this place since I’ve only been here for a few days. Do you think I could get a tour?” I tried to ask the question casually, and not as if my entire world depended on the answer.

I held my breath awaiting the verdict.

Hanji started waving her hand in the air wildly. “Oh me, pick me! Pick me! I would LOVE to give you a tour. I can tell you all the interesting facts I know about the base!” She hesitated for a moment, and her shoulders slumped in disappointment. “Oh, I should probably ask Levi first. He would kill me if I showed you something I wasn’t supposed to.”

No! Damnit! I had been so close to finding them! Hanji was pretty scatterbrained, so it probably wouldn’t even occur to her that I had some secret, ulterior motive as to why I wanted to see the dungeons and science labs. Levi, on the other hand, seemed like a much more cautious, thorough person. He was clever enough not to let a brand new recruit know something as critical as where they were keeping important prisoners. I had no doubt in my mind that he would only allow me to know the locations of Mikasa and Christa when he fully trusted me. Hah! Like that was _ever_ going to happen.

I decided to give one last ditch effort. “Oh I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you just showed me the dungeons and science labs.” I put on the most innocent, harmless expression I could muster. “I think it would be _so cool_ to see a werewolf up close.

“Really?” Jean jumped in suspiciously. “I thought you recently had a pretty horrific experience with werewolves. Didn’t one almost kill you? Why would you want to see a werewolf up close after that?”

Shit. I couldn’t let that damn horse-face blow my cover.

“Werewolves in captivity don’t scare me.” I said coolly. “I mean what are they going to do? Teleport past the bars, and bite my head off? That’s just childish thinking.” I finished smugly, satisfied with the reasonable answer I had come up with on the spot. Eren – 1. Horseface – 0.

I glared at Jean, daring him to challenge me again. He only narrowed his eyes at me before looking away, deciding not to push the matter.

“Well when you put it like that, I’m sure that it would be fine with Levi!” Hanji exclaimed. _Yes!_ I resisted the urge to pump my fists in the air which took quite a bit of restraint.

“…But it will have to wait until another day because I told Erwin I would train you all today, and I gotta do what the boss says. Sorry!” I didn’t even bother to hide my disappointment which I knew was probably clearly visible on my face. Everyone else would just assume I was really hoping to get a tour of the base. They didn’t know that I had just missed possibly my only chance to see my sister and close friend again.

I tried not to let my spirits fall too much. I mean I was definitely closer to finding them than I had been before. At least know I knew they were being kept in the dungeon and science labs even if I didn’t know exactly where to find those places. That was a step in the right direction…

 _Yeah one step of progress with a mile to go,_ I thought bitterly.

I sighed, and tuned back into the incredibly interesting conversation of Hanji explaining the mating seasons of turtles.

 

***

 

I was relieved when training finally ended. I swear I was going to strangle the next person who told me a science fact.

Now I wanted nothing more than to return to my quarters, curl up under the covers, and sleep for a month. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until later. Right now I had a job to do. I couldn’t very well rescue Mikasa and Christa if the vampires found out who I was – well I guess I was more of a _what_ to them, not a _who_. Vampires must really view werewolves like objects if they thought it was moral to experiment on us like we were some kind of science project. It disgusted me. I couldn’t wait for the day I could leave here and never come back. I thought resolutely that I never wanted to see another vampire again as long as I lived.

As if on cue, Reiner tapped me on the shoulder and shot me a friendly smile. “Hey Julian, we missed you yesterday after training. Wanna go hit up the cafeteria before all the warm blood is gone?” I must have visibly blanched at his words because he quickly added, “Oh if you’re not feeling well, that’s fine too. Just wanna make you feel welcome to the team.”

“Um,” I tried to cover up my gag with a cough. “You know, I think I've gotta pass man. I’m still feeling a little out of sorts. It must be the new environment or something. I guess I’m a little homesick.” I tried to play up the whole victimized kid who had just lost his home act, and I even managed to return his warm smile; albeit, not quite as sincerely as I had been going for, but, you know, close enough.

“You sure Julian?” Marco chimed in. “You might feel better after eating. It’s not healthy to go days without a meal. I could go grab you something really qui-”

“No I’m good thanks,” I interrupted a little more harshly than I had meant to and I could see a flash of hurt appear across Marco’s face. I couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. As far as vampires go, Marco was probably the most tolerable of the ones I had encountered. I pushed the feeling away quickly, a little mad at myself that I had just felt guilty for hurting a vampire’s feelings - if they even _had_ feelings.

Jean was scowling at me, and he pointedly put an arm around Marcos waist, leaning close to whisper reassurances into his ear.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow!” I called to the group, making an effort to smile amiably at Marco to try and make up for my earlier misdemeanor (purely for the sake of my cover and not at all because of the pitiful, little sniffling sound he just made).

“Bye Julian!” They all chanted in unison - all except Jean. He was still a little wary of me, and I could tell he was put off by the tactless way I had treated Marco. I better put that to memory for future reference. Being nice to Marco could be the key to Jean trusting me.

As soon as everyone had turned away, I briskly started walking away from the group. I kept going until I had made it to a deserted area. Now it was time to initiate my plan. Operation bloodweed is a go.

I double checked and made absolutely sure that there was no one nearby before I started sprinting from building to building, trying not to linger too long in plain view before taking cover behind a wall.

The storm from last night was still going strong, and the thunder filled the air with deep, booming roars. The raindrops seemed to cut into my face as I ran, but I was actually grateful for the storm and the cover that it provided. Even though I could barely see two feet in front of my face, it also meant that the vampires were visually impaired to some degree. If I was ever going to try to sneak out of this fortress unseen, now was the opportune time to do it.

Only a few minutes had passed since I had started furtively running from building to building, but the fear of getting caught made it seem like an eternity before I reached my destination – the front of the facility. I had decided that the front gates were my best chance of getting out of here. It wasn’t exactly the ideal plan since the front gates were probably the most heavily guarded area of the entire facility, but I didn’t really have a choice. The perimeter was completely surrounded by towering stone walls, so unless I suddenly sprouted wings and gained the ability to fly, the front gates would have to do.

My plan was pretty simple actually. I needed to somehow find my way past the front gates – I honestly had no idea how I was going to do that, and my plan was basically to just wing it - and then from there, I needed to make it to the forest just outside the vampire base. That’s where I had originally found the bloodweed right before coming here and that’s where I intended to get more. Then I just had to make it back, all the while making sure I wasn’t spotted by the many guards stationed in the towers… Simple.

 _Well it’s either that or let the vampires devour you for the main course of their dinner_ my brain pleasantly reminded me. I guess if I had to choose between impalement by bullets or slowly being drained dry of blood by my ultimate adversary, I would readily go with the former. I mean I was almost shot to death a few days earlier, so I had already been there, done that.

I cautiously surveyed the clearing lying before me. The huge area was completely deserted, and the heavy rainfall created a misty haze, creating the allusion that the grey cement stretched on for miles. It was a little creepy actually. The last time I had been here was when I had first arrived, and the entire area had been full of row after row of vampire soldiers. This eerie solitude was reminiscent of the feeling you got when you were alone in a graveyard, but you still felt like you were being watched. I had to suppress a shiver.

Despite the unsettling effect the mist was creating, it was actually working to my advantage because it gave me a much better chance of getting past unseen. However, I was still moving target. It wouldn’t be hard to see me if someone was really closely scanning the area – a guard for instance.

I quickly pushed the thought from my mind, and steeled my resolve. I could do this.

A second later, I was racing away from the cover of the building and out into the open – utterly exposed. I pinpointed my target, the towering front gates across the clearing, and made a mad dash for them, sprinting faster than I ever had before in my life. My feet pounded into the ground so hard I was sure I must have made footprints in the cement. I could feel the blood pounding in my ears and the adrenaline coursing through my body, causing my muscles to jolt into overdrive.

My determination from earlier was rapidly being replaced with terror. I was a completely conspicuous target with my dark uniform contrasting glaringly with the grey cement. I also felt extremely naked being out in the open with no cover to hide me if someone did happen to walk by, or a guard happened to look this way.

Oh god, I was going to be seen. They were going to shoot me any second now.

I was putting so much concentration into running that I almost ran head first into the gates. I skidded to a stop, and quickly scanned the area for signs that I had been spotted.

I breathed in a sigh of relief as the only apparent disturbance in the area was the metronomic thudding of rain. I hadn’t been seen. I quickly ducked down before my cover was blown, and studied the gates to see if I could fit through the bars.

No dice. Even if I was half the size I was now, I still wouldn’t fit.

 _Shit what was I going to do_? I couldn’t go back without the bloodweed, but I couldn’t very well stay here like a sitting duck for any vampires that happened to pass by. I’m guessing it was more than a little strange for a vampire to try and sneak out of their own base, and away from the safety the walls provided. That was going to raise all kinds of questions, and it wouldn’t be long before they figured out my secret.

I needed to think of something, and I needed to do it before I was seen.

I sorely wished that Armin was here. He would’ve been able to think of some innovative way to get past the gates like slipping through while the gates were open, or digging a tunnel underneath. Of course, neither of those options were viable. There was no reason why the vampires would open the gates right now, and the ground was covered in rock hard cement.

 _Or was it?_ In my peripheral vision, I noticed a small patch of brown amongst the sea of grey concrete. Upon closer inspection, I saw that there was a small area of dirt where the cement had eroded away. I didn’t even need to think twice before I was digging as fast as my hands could move.

I froze when I heard voices sounding from behind me.

“Hey Jean are you on look-out duty tonight?” It was distant, but I could make out Ymir’s voice and two sets of footsteps approaching the clearing - the clearing where my precarious position would be painfully visible to anyone passing by.

I started digging even more furiously, blood leaking from my fingernails that had split apart in the process.

Good enough. I needed to get out of here _now_. I tried to desperately push my way through the unfinished hole I had dug.

“No Ymir, I just love walking around for no apparent reason…Of course I have look-out duty!”

“Geez you don’t have to be so rude. I’m on look-out duty too and I swear if you’re going to be a douche the entire time, I will personally push you off the look-out tower.”

The footsteps were getting closer and closer. I could tell that they were about to enter the clearing any second and if that happened my cover would be blown.

With one last shove, I forced my body to squeeze under the gates. However, in doing so, the sharp tips of the gates had sliced long bloody stripes all the way down my back. I tried to muffle my voice, but I couldn’t help letting out a strangled cry as stabbing pain shot down my spine.

“Huh? Did you hear something?”

I quickly stood up as I reached the other side of the gates, but stumbled and almost fell back down again as waves of pain raked down my back. I tried to ignore the throbbing in my back, and directed all my focus to the matter at hand.

I glanced behind me to see if I had been sighted, and I turned just in time to see Jean and Ymir enter the clearing.

They hadn’t seen me yet, but they were about to.

The threat of being discovered sent a rush of adrenaline surging through me, and no sooner had I managed to find my balance then I was sprinting across the open field towards the safety of the forest.

Every step sent tendrils of fiery pain down my back, but that only seemed to make my body move faster.

I was in the homestretch. The forest was only about 10 yards away. I was so close, but every raindrop that pounded into my skin seemed like a countdown before I was seen - before I was shot.

To my surprise, as I darted into the safety of the trees I hadn’t heard a single gunshot.

Once my body realized that the imminent danger was over, my energy seemed to drain away all at once and I collapsed on the ground overcome by exhaustion.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So remember that part when Eren was absolutely, 100% positive that no one saw him??? Heheheh, he might've been a teensy bit wrong... Who saw him you ask? Well, you will find out all about that in the next chapter MUAHAHAHA!!!


	15. Mystery Man

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> PREPARATION FOR TORTURE. VIOLENCE.
> 
> Hmmm... Is it bad if I have a trigger warning on almost every single chapter? Maybe I should reevaluate some of my life choices...
> 
> ¡Hola mis amores! (After taking 5 Spanish classes, that's pretty much the extent of my Spanish speaking abilities XD) So I really meant to get this chapter out several days ago, but for some reason I have just been so exhausted this week and I couldn't find the motivation to edit this. Why I'm so tired over summer break when I'm getting like 12 hours of sleep every night and drinking 3 cups of coffee a day is a complete mystery to me and I guess my body has finally become immune to the effects of caffeine... T.T 
> 
> Enjoy!!!

 

~ Levi ~

 

I angrily slammed the drawer I was looking through shut, causing the room to fill with a resounding bang.

I had been trying to sort through Hanji’s incomprehensible organizing system for a frustrating couple of hours now. I had hoped that this little excursion would be brief so that I could return to interrogating the werewolf prisoner as quickly as possible. However, those hopes were dashed as soon as I saw the state of the science department.

Why Erwin let Hanji be in charge of organizing the science instruments was beyond me. Granted, Hanji was a scientist and an undeniably genius one at that. In the areas of understanding convoluted scientific concepts and carrying out in depth experiments, she far surpassed anyone I knew, but when it came down to organization and neatness, she was extremely lacking. Honestly, Erwin probably let her have her way because he knew that her messy tendencies would clash with my pedantic obsession with cleanliness.

The thought of Erwin made my mind drift to our earlier conversation. In retrospect, I was a little ashamed that I had let my emotions get the best of me, but I couldn’t seem to control what words were coming out of my mouth at the time. It was like my body was acting on autopilot and my common sense was powerless in the back seat. The way Erwin could effortlessly tear down my carefully constructed composure of indifference and invoke so much raw emotion from me was just plain offensive. However, my ire for Erwin was inevitably bound to come to a head when it felt like he was constantly manipulating my every thought and feeling like some adept puppeteer. I was certain that our last conversation had gone exactly as he had planned it to go, and I felt like in idiot for playing right into his cunning hands.

It seemed that only Erwin and Julian were able to get a rise out of me, and I couldn’t tell which of the two was more unsettling. Erwin was intimately connected with my past and had the deprave ability to make me feel small and powerless like I was an ignorant child again. Julian, on the other hand, made me feel powerless in a different way...He was such an enigma and because I couldn’t understand him, I couldn’t predict his next move. I swear between the two of them, I was going to lost all semblance of my sanity.

I forced myself to redirect my attention back to the task at hand, and when I opened the next drawer, I finally found the tool I was looking for. Gathering up the assortment of bizarre implements and contraptions I had collected, I gave them a quick look-over to make sure I had everything.

I had tortured werewolves before when our main method of tracking werewolf camps had been to extract that information from other werewolves, but that had been years ago. Now that there were so few werewolves left, word spread like wildfire if there was a sighting. Of course, there was also the reward money we offered in exchange for information which was another helpful method of ascertaining the whereabouts of werewolf settlements. As we steadily killed off the werewolf population, the need for torture had also started to die off. Until now.

I finished looking over everything, and placed the collection of torture devices in the messenger bag I had brought with me.

I smirked. Even though I was rusty in the torture department, I had no doubt that even the most obstinate werewolf would crack after having these used on them. If the werewolf prisoner knew where the russet brown werewolf, it wouldn’t be long before she conceded and told me everything she knew.

I was on my way back to the dungeons when an almost imperceptible movement in the distance caught the corner of my eye. If I hadn’t been such an observant person, I probably wouldn’t have even noticed it.

The movement caught me off guard. I had just assumed that the heavy deluge of rain pouring down would be enough to discourage anyone from venturing outside. Me being the exception, of course, I highly doubted that anyone would be crazy enough to be out in this storm by choice. However, the shadowy outline of a person up ahead was evidently contradicting that idea.

My insatiable curiosity was enough to put my current objective on hold, and follow the distant figure weaving between the buildings.

The more I observed the ominous figure, the more my suspicion began to grow. I recognized the way they were deftly keeping to the shadows and sticking close to the walls because I had done that myself often during missions.

That was the way you maneuvered when you didn’t want to be seen.

My body instinctively slipped into a silent prowl, making sure to keep a generous distance away from the figure as to not alert them of my presence. The transition from candid to stealth came so naturally to me by now that I didn’t even hesitate in making the adjustment. I was a born hunter stalking my prey.

If I was the type of soldier that played by the book, then I would have triggered the alarm and initiated the standard lockdown procedure that we were supposed to use if there ever was an intruder. However, I was in fact the glaring opposite of someone who mindlessly follows the rules like a duckling following its mother. I do what I want, and that was an ultimatum that I made very clear to Erwin when I first became a soldier. Putting my insubordinate personality aside, I was reluctant to sound an alarm when I didn’t even know if this was an intruder to begin with, and I wasn’t one to make hasty assumptions. After all, there hadn’t been a single incident where someone tried to break past our defenses in my entire time stationed here: most people knew a lost cause when they saw one and breaking into a Vampire Corps facility was the definition of a lost cause.

I hated to admit it, but I was also itching to find out what this person was up to, and I knew if an alarm was set off they would instantly back out of whatever sketchy business they were involved in.

I halted immediately when I realized the figure had stopped and ducked down behind the last building before the convenient camouflage the rows of buildings had offered was replaced with the conspicuousness of an open clearing. My gaze roamed past the clearing and focused on the front gates that lay up ahead. My eyes narrowed as the suspicion that this person was trying to sneak out of the base was slowly being confirmed.

I didn’t dare move and quietly watched from my vantage point about 100 yards away, waiting for them to make their next move. Their stance was slightly guarded as if they had sensed someone was watching them, and I couldn’t help but be a little impressed. Very few people could sense me when I was trying not to be noticed, and even though they hadn’t directly caught on to my presence, they still seemed to innately sense that something was off and that was commendable in my book.

After a few moments, they seemed to relax and started sprinting across the clearing. Once they were out in the open, I was able to get a better look at the mystery person. I was quite a distance away but I could just make out that the person was a youthful male with short brown hair and a tall, athletic build. I wouldn’t call him buff exactly, but lean with well defined muscles rippling under the fabric of his clothes.

I noted with a hint of surprise that he was wearing the standard Vampire Corps uniform. Well that nixed the intruder notion. I probably should have stopped my pursuit of the man now that I knew there was no evident danger, but on the contrary, the fact that he was a Vampire Corps soldier piqued my curiosity even more. What reason could he possible have to be sneaking around his own base?

I tried to discern the person’s identity, but I couldn’t get a good enough look at his face. I resolutely decided that there was no way I was going to stop tailing this guy before I figured out who he was. This could very well turn out to be a waste of my time, but it wouldn’t be catastrophic if I delayed torturing the werewolf prisoner for a bit longer. It wasn’t like she was going anywhere.

I was carefully maintaining the distance between us, going fast enough to keep up with the boy’s pace, but slow enough so that I didn’t gain any ground on him. When the boy eventually reached the front gates, he stopped and I quickly followed suit.

I observed his movements closely: rather interested to see how he planned on getting past the front gates. Whatever his intention, I was confident that it didn’t warrant official authorization to open the gates. If he was taking this many precautions to maintain a certain modicum of stealth, there was no way he was planning on leaving through the completely conspicuous front gates whose harsh, grating sound could be heard throughout the entire base.

It seemed the boy didn’t exactly know how he was going to get past he gates either because he was looking around anxiously as if unsure of what he was supposed to do next. _Was he serious?_ He was actually stupid enough to attempt the incredibly risky endeavor of sneaking out of this guarded fortress without _even_ _thinking_ of a plan to get past the gates beforehand? I had to resist the urge to face-palm at the pure idiocy of this kid.

I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow as I waited skeptically to see how this extremely bright individual was going to go about trying to get past the gates. Amusement started to creep onto my features as I deduced that there was absolutely no way this would end without him screwing up and getting caught. Well, at least I would get a show out of this whole adventure.

To my surprise, however, the boy had crouched down on the ground, and was now scraping at the cement with his bare hands.

What the fuck was he trying to do? I allowed myself to creep a little closer to try and decipher his actions.

My eyes suddenly widened as I realized that he had managed to find a patch of dirt amongst the concrete, and was working on digging a hole beneath the gate.

Goddamn that might…that might _actually_ work.

I couldn’t help but feel a slight surge of admiration towards the boy. I honestly never would have thought of that. Of course I would have had the foresight to come up with a plan in advance which he obviously hadn’t, but I had to admit it was pretty quick thinking on his part.

Suddenly, I could feel my muscles instinctively stiffen in reaction to the sound of footsteps nearby. I could tell the kid hadn’t noticed them yet because he appeared to be fairly calm as he continued digging.

“Hey Jean are you on look out duty tonight?” I instantly recognized Ymir’s voice.

There was no way he hadn’t heard that. Ymir’s voice wasn’t terribly loud, but it was deep and it could easily carry that distance.

Sure enough, the boy suddenly sat up ramrod straight from his previously crouched position. Not even a second later, he was back to digging, but much more violently than before, hands urgently clawing into the ground.

My eyes glinted mischievously as I briefly thought about screwing the kid over and alerting Ymir and Jean to his position. However, my desire to discover what this boy was up to won out against my need to fuck people over, so I decided to stay silent and watch the scene unfold.

The boy had stopped digging and was now trying to fit through the narrow ditch he had created beneath the gate.

I wasn’t sure he was going to fit, but my doubts dissolved as I watched him shove through with one last mighty push. I might have imagined it, but I could’ve sworn that he had let out a pained cry as he went under the gates.

An instant later, I realized why. In the process of trying to fit through the narrow gap, the pointed ends of the gates had slashed cuts along his entire back in long, bloody slices.

I didn’t dwell on the issue though because at that moment, the boy stood up shakily and glanced behind him to see if he had been spotted.

A shocked gasp escaped my lips as I got a clear view of the mystery boy’s face for the first time.

The suspicious person currently trying to sneak out of the base for an inevitably devious purpose was no other than the brat I had met yesterday.

Julian.

 

~ Eren ~

 

I decided to rest on the ground for a few minutes and let my weary body recover before beginning my search for bloodweed.

However after a few agonizing minutes had passed, I wasn’t in much better shape. In fact, I’m pretty sure I was worse. My breathing was labored and I felt horribly dizzy; most likely due to blood loss. Furthermore, the adrenaline rush from earlier had completely drained all my energy, leaving me feeling hollow and utterly exhausted.

I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and let the blackness threatening my vision to consume me. That sounded so nice. I could take a quick nap before looking for the bloodweed. It wouldn’t take that long…

 _No,_ I told myself sternly. My common sense knew that if I fell asleep now, I could very well die from the blood loss. Unfortunately, it was getting increasingly difficult to listen to any mode of reason when all my consciousness wanted to do was drift off into a peaceful oblivion.

_If I die here, there will be no one to save Mikasa and Christa._

That horrifying realization was enough to have me pushing off the ground and stumbling forward in a pathetic attempt to walk.

I had to regain my balance by leaning up against a nearby tree, and it took all my focus just to walk forward as I began scouring the area for bloodweed.

I thought it would be easy to find the same patch of bloodweed from before I went to the vampire fortress, but the storm seemed to distort my surroundings, making everything appear foreign and unfamiliar.

After wandering around for what seemed like eternity, I caught sight of a flash of red in my peripheral vision. Going closer to investigate, a surge of relief flowed through me as I spotted the implicative red bloodweed blossoms.

I immediately started uprooting handful after handful of the plant until I had accumulated a generous pile. I then proceeded to fill my pockets with bloodweed until they were full to the brim. In a moment of clarity, I also crushed a few of the stems into a poultice and did my best to smear it on as much as my wounds as I could reach at my awkward angle. It stung quite a bit as the bitter liquid seeped into the tender cuts, but I hadn’t come this far in the effort to hide the scent of my blood only to have a vampire smell the fresh blood currently trickling down my back.

I couldn’t help but feel a little prideful at the fact that my plan had actually been successful up to this point. I was not expecting to get this far at all. I didn’t even think I would make it past the front gates, but not only had I managed to sneak out of there unnoticed, I was also able to find bloodweed in this storm. It was a small victory, but it still gave me the willpower to stand up on my feet and begin the trek back to the vampire base.

As I walked, I found myself taking a deep breath of the crisp forest air. My nose got a pleasant whiff of that wonderful, petrichor scent that only occurs when it has rained, and the water has washed away all the filth and grime that manages to accumulate on every surface, leaving only fresh, clean nature in its wake. The scent was entirely irresistible to me after having to cope with the stifling stench of vampires for days, and I felt a newfound sense of rejuvenation wash over me.

The scent was actually rather nostalgic. It reminded me of the way my village used to smell after it rained. The familiar smell triggered a recent memory of the last time it had rained at my village. It had stormed for days on end, and we had all been very short-tempered and on edge from being cooped inside all day. Armin, Mikasa, and I had been so thrilled when the rain finally stopped that we had all gone running together in the forest. The dirt was soft and wet under our paws, and the sun had shone brilliantly in the sky reflecting off of the surviving raindrops still clinging to the leaves. After hunting down a deer for dinner, we had all trudged back to my place filthy and covered in dirt, but wide grins plastered across our faces, nonetheless. Mom had scolded for getting the floor dirty, but she had that fond smile on her face that revealed she didn’t mind it all that much since we were having such a good time. We all sat down at the table, after cleaning up of course, and had dinner together.

As a family.

The thought of everyone I loved back together again sent sharp pangs of grief coursing through me, and I had to stifle a sob. The memory felt so vivid and real that I could still visualize the entire scene down to the last detail. If I closed my eyes, I could picture Mikasa, Armin, and my mom in my mind like they were right there in front of me as alive and tangible as the plethora of trees growing in this forest.

I opened my eyes and I could tell I was slightly delirious from my injuries because I thought I could make out my mom standing in the foreground of my vision as if she had materialized there from my daydream. Her lovely, dark hair looked so soft and inviting. I wanted to reach out and touch it. I wanted her to hold me in her arms again like she used to, and sing to me with her exquisite voice that would soothe all my worries as if they never existed.

I was so caught up in the fantasy that my hand started moving of its own accord, and I vainly reached out to touch the image of my Mom standing before me. My incoherent mind believed that if I just reached far enough, my mother would actually be standing there. I would wake up and realize that the attack on my village had all just been a horrible nightmare. If I just reached far enough, we could all have dinner again as a family. We could talk and laugh and argue again just like we used to. If I just reached far enough, maybe that profound desire could become a reality.

When I felt my mom grab a hold of my hand, I knew that I must be seriously ill because the sensation felt as visceral and genuine as if my mom was actually there holding my hand.

But why was her hand so cold? My mom’s hand had always been so warm and comforting to the touch. This hand was so cold that it sent a chilling shiver straight down my spine as soon as it made contact with my skin.

The hand suddenly coiled so tightly around my wrist that a surprised gasp fell from my lips, and before I could even process what had happened, I felt myself go weightless as I was violently thrown through the air. My body collided unceremoniously into a tree trunk that could have been made of steel for how brutal the impact was, and it caused all the air to be viciously knocked from my lungs.

When the fresh, burgeoning pain of being body slammed into a tree exacerbated the biting pain of the gashes across my back, I realized that this was not a hallucination.

My hazy mind was still trying to piece together what had just occurred when a hand wrapped around my neck and roughly shoved my head into the ground. The throbbing ache in my head was quickly followed by a crushing pain in my stomach as a knee was pressed against it, and I was left unable to move and breathless once again. I was shocked at how easy it was for this person to manhandle me. I was injured, so that was definitely hindering my ability to defend myself, but they had thrown me around as if I had weighed nothing more than a doll and had targeted just the right pressure points to render me as incapable and helpless as one too.

White spots started to blur my vision and I was desperately gasping for air, trying to catch my breath after having the wind knocked out of me two times in a row.

However, when a deep, demanding voice cut through the air with the sharpness of a knife, I was yet again left unable to breathe.

Because I recognized that voice.

“You have a lot of explaining to do, brat.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My, my how does Eren manage to get himself in these situations? ;) 
> 
> I've written half of the next chapter, and I just need to finish it up and edit it. In theory that shouldn't take me too long, but I have a supernatural ability to procrastinate so who knows... 
> 
> (p.s. You all should be looking forward to the next chapter because sexual tension and ereri. Need I say more?)


	16. It Must Be Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> MENTION OF GENOCIDE. THREATS OF MURDER. 
> 
> Hello all you lovely people! Guess what? I'm psychic! I predicted that I would take forever to post this and I was right! A-ha! In all seriousness though, there was a reason why this took me longer than I expected - the dreaded ant-writing monster known as school. The amount of homework and stress that school inflicts hit me like a truck carrying a ton of bricks which then sent my mangled body flying off a cliff only to land on a sheet of ice in Antarctica which sent me crashing through the ice into sub-zero water where I froze and am currently aimlessly drifting through a sea of cold darkness and despair........................ Don't worry, I'm only kidding...haha...ha...
> 
> Anyways, I hope I make it up to you with all the sexual tension in this chapter! I may break my promises when it comes to posting consistently, but when I make a promise about sexual tension, oh you can bet that I will deliver. XD

 

~ Ymir ~

 

“Bye Julian!” Julian shot us a crooked smile before heading off in the direction of his quarters. I noticed that the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. This was the second time now that he had skipped out on joining us in the cafeteria. It was obvious that something was bothering him and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what that could be.

We weren’t given too many details on what exactly had happened at Julian’s old base, but the term liquidated had been used and the implications were pretty straightforward. His squad must have been attacked by werewolves, and if it was bad enough to completely “liquidate” his base, then I’m sure he harbored memories that weren’t easy to bear. I couldn’t blame him for his asocial behavior when I knew that he was probably going through hell right now.

And I could easily commiserate with him there. Losing Petra had wrought turmoil and grief in everyone’s hearts, mine included. I didn’t take to people easily, and the fact that she was one of the few people I could tolerate, and actually enjoy being around, was really a testament to her character. The fact that such a vivacious person was now dead left me feeling somewhat hollow and empty, and I knew that was going to leave a ragged scar that would never quite heal.

Losing one squad member was horrible enough, and I couldn’t even imagine the anguish Julian must be enduring after losing his entire squad.

After hearing Julian’s tragic story, I found myself reserving a soft spot for him amongst my normally recluse, antagonistic personality and hatred for people in general. I wanted him to feel welcome in our squad since his had been so brutally torn away from him. I knew that he would never be able to replace Petra, but I was confident that his new place among our squad would be rehabilitating – for both him and the rest of the squad. I could tell that the new recruit was already starting to raise our morale a bit and the melancholy atmosphere had receded slightly. Julian’s presence was a sorely needed distraction from the grief, and I think even Jean, who was being a real stick in the mud around Julian, was serving to benefit as well. His bickering with Julian was the most normal he had acted since Levi and the elite squad members had returned from their last mission bearing the dreadful news.

I was also intrigued by how Julian’s presence was affecting the Corporal. As long as I had been stationed here, the Corporal had never once missed training. Then two days after Julian shows up, that very thing occurs and I had no delusions that it was a coincidence. Julian was getting to him in some way, and I didn’t know if it was for the better or worse yet.

I guess I would just have to wait and find out.

I had been heading in the direction of the cafeteria to rejoin the rest of the group, but when I spotted a familiar head of red hair bobbing its way towards me, I immediately started to flee in the opposite direction. I was still feeling resentful towards Hanji for making me associate with a werewolf yesterday and, if the enthusiastic smile plastered across her face as she rushed at me meant what I thought it did, then she was going to ask me to assist her again. I quickened my pace.

Alas, Hanji’s seemingly undending supply of energy made it so she was currently skipping towards me at a frighteningly swift speed and she caught up with me in no time.

“Ymir-chan! Wow you must be in quite a hurry! I had to rush to catch up with you.” Did she really just call me Ymir-chan?

“Yeah I wonder why. It’s not like I’m trying to get away from you or anything,” I deadpanned, blatantly expressing my dissatisfaction with the aggravating scientist.

“Good! Because I was wondering if you would be willing to aid me in my experiments with the werewolf today?” She asked innocently, completely unaware of the bitter undertone my facetious comment contained. “Yesterday was a bit uneventful since our subject was dying and all that, but today is when the real fun begins!”

Fun? Yeah right. Like spending time with a werewolf could ever be described as a ‘fun’ experience. My response was dripping with sarcasm when I spoke. “You know, I loathe to miss such a tempting opportunity, but I think I’m going to have to pass this time.”

“Oh, but you were so wonderful yesterday! It was like you were born for the very purpose of being my assistant! This is fate, Ymir. Fate!” She gestured up at the sky like a ray of light was about to shine down and prove the divinity behind her words. “You wouldn’t deny fate would you? I heard that she can be pretty temperamental if she doesn’t get her way, and defying her will end up coming back to bit you in the ass.” Hanji gazed at me with the utmost sincerity despite the ridiculousness of her words.

There were a multitude of scornful remarks that I would have liked to say, but for some reason, the only thing that came out of my mouth was, “Since when has fate been a girl?”

Hanji’s eyes lit up, and I immediately knew I was going to regret saying that. “Well since you asked! If you’ve done you research on ancient Greek mythology, you would know that the ancient Grecian culture often consisted of personifying abstract concepts like beauty, peace, war, etcetera as humanoid vessels with the characteristics of people. People, as you know, are often categorized by gender, so I simply chose to utilize the female gender since I was reminded of one of the Greek myths that I’ve heard which involves three women known as The Fates who control the destiny of all people and –“

“Nevermind! Forget I asked.” This women really was a walking encyclopedia. “I really couldn’t care less about that Greek mythology shit.”

I sighed with exasperation, and realized that if I wanted to get anywhere with Hanji, I would have to be perfectly honest. My gaze locked onto Hanji, and I felt my mouth tighten into a thin line before continuing, all trace of my sarcastic tone dissipating and being replaced with the utmost solemnity. “I don’t want to go near that werewolf again, Hanji. All I can think about when I’m near it is how Petra had her throat torn out by one of its own kind. You would be better off with an assistant that doesn’t want to murder your test subject. ”

The disappointed reaction I had been expecting after explicitly refusing her request never came. Instead, Hanji’s face softened into a sympathetic, almost sad expression, her eyes becoming slightly unfocused as if her mind was somewhere faraway from here. The display of vulnerability was so uncharacteristic from Hanji’s normally unemotional, manic disposition that I became inordinately aware that Hanji was in fact a person that could experience emotion and hurt just like everyone else. The phrase “just like everyone else” applied so rarely to the loud, socially oblivious, encyclopedia-reciting, definitely somewhat insane yet extremely intelligent scientist that all I could do was return her look with an expression of stupefied bemusement.

She snapped out of her daze and smiled at me. “I can completely relate to you there, Ymir-chan. Just because I am interested in studying the werewolves and learning more about their race doesn’t mean I resent them any less than you do. Believe me, I do. I have lost many of my comrades to the fangs and claws of the lycanthropes. We all have.” I was so shocked to hear a confession that was just so raw and emotional and not at all objectively scientific coming from Hanji, that my mouth had subconsciously dropped wide open. When she put a comforting hand on my shoulder, my jaw gaped even wider.

Her grip on my shoulder tightened as she flung her fist in the air and uttered a sound that could only be described as a war cry. “But despite the slaughter of our friends and comrades, we have not stood idly by and let their deaths be in vain! We have fought back, Ymir-mir! And not just through the standard physical means. We have fought back with a much more effectual weapon…Knowledge.”

The manic glint had returned to her eye and I realized that I had come to understand Hanji more in these past few seconds than in all my years knowing her combined.

Hanji continued on with her tirade. “Why do you think vampires are winning?! We are fairly evenly matched when it comes to combat, but with our advanced technology and weapons WE HAVE DECIMATED THEIR NUMBERS DRAMATICALLY!” I don’t think Hanji even noticed that she had started screaming, but my ringing ears definitely did. I knew better then to interrupt Hanji in the middle of a rant, so I decided to let my eardrums suffer a bit longer.

However, instead of being bombarded with yelling, Hanji leaned in close to my ear and spoke at a volume barely above a whisper, making me strain to catch her words.

“I believe we can finally wipe them out for good, Ymir-y, if we just utilize the opportunities at our disposal. If we can take advantage of the potential our werewolf subject offers, we may be able to discover a weakness that allows us to eradicate their race once and for all.”

And then the screaming was back. “HELP ME ON MY QUEST YMIR-CHAN! I KNOW THAT TOGETHER WE CAN SUCCEED!!!”

She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows inquisitively, her voice thankfully returned to a bearable volume. “So…What do you say?” Despite the innocence of her demeanor, a devious smile was playing across her lips, revealing that she was already well aware of what my answer was going to be. She had me in the palm of her hand and I couldn't help but grudgingly marvel at her brilliance. You could call Hanji a lot of things, but you couldn't deny her impressive intellect.

I let my actions speak for themselves as I started heading in the direction of the science labs.

“Yay!!! Let’s do this Ymir-bear! Let’s go defeat the werewolves! I can tell victory is near! I can just feel it—“

I stopped suddenly and she collided into my back, halting her rambling for a brief moment.

“I will do this on one condition, Hanji.”

I turned around slowly, and let my eyes reflect the inner darkness I knew that I possessed.

“No. More. Ridiculous. Nicknames.”

The threat must have come across loud and clear because Hanji responded with a cheerful, “Sure thing, Ymir-cha – I mean Ymir!”

 

~ Eren ~

 

“You have a lot of explaining to do, brat.”

I had to blink my eyes several times in succession before I actually believed that the man currently pinning me down to the ground was real.

Sure enough when I opened my eyes again, Corporal Levi was still sitting there with his knee digging into my stomach and his hand tightly encircled around my neck.

I had to marvel at the sheer number of times Levi and I were able to end up in this position. It had to be at least three times now and I almost laughed out loud at the irony that the person I kept ending up suggestively pressed up against was none other than my worst enemy. Fate had a really twisted sense of humor.

He was pressed so close to me that I could feel his cool breathe against my skin, and smell his intoxicating scent that was a blend of autumn leaves, blood, and lavender shampoo. I also had a clear view of his face that was a mere inches away from mine. His wet hair was plastered in a disarray against his forehead, causing the soaked, black strands to fall into his eyes and drip water onto his long, dark lashes. His hair did nothing to obscure the burning intensity of his silver eyes that were glaring at me with an expression that was both suspicious and angry. If anything, the darkness of his hair contrasting with the light hue of his eyes brought out the unusual color even more. His mouth was sculpted into a frown, and I say sculpted because those lips could have been an artfully designed, marble statue for how perfectly they curved across his face.

When I made no attempt to escape the hold he had on me, he released his grip on my neck only to place his hands on either side of my head; a warning that he could easily force me back into the same chokehold again. The threat rang loud and clear and I obediently remained still.

He was looking at me expectantly, and it took me a few good seconds before I remembered that he had just spoken and was waiting for my response.

Annoyance flashed across his features, and he moved his face even closer to mine - if that was even possible - eliciting a sharp exhale of surprise from me in the process.

His eyes narrowed in a way that had my heart racing and I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or sheer awe of his commanding presence.

“Don’t make me ask you again brat. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right this second for abandoning your station.”

I was still so stunned by the situation and the fact that his face was almost touching mine that I barely registered what he said. However, when his eyes started to flicker with anger, I realized that words had to pass my lips soon or I was in big trouble.

“L-Levi?” I spluttered, still not able to form a coherent response.

That must not have satisfied him because a deep growl sounded in his throat and his hand was suddenly grabbing a fistful of my hair, tilting my face up towards his and sending jolts of pain where the hair was roughly tugged. The suspicion and anger on his face intensified at my incriminating, unwillingness to answer him

“Do you have any idea what this looks like kid?” he seethed. No, actually I didn’t, but he was quick to enlighten me. “You come to this base after miraculously surviving a werewolf attack that left your entire unit dead and now, a few days later, you’re sneaking off into the forest by yourself near the same area where the attack took place.”

My face must have reflected how completely dumbfounded I was because his eyes were once again blazing with anger.

The hand in my hair gave it another sharp tug. “You know what I think?” He hissed with such venom that I was sure he must have found out that I was a werewolf. That was the only explanation for how contorted his face was right now. I hadn’t seen him look like this since our standoff at my village and he didn’t even know that was me at the time. All he had seen was a vicious werewolf and, based on his current fury, that was probably all he was seeing right now.

Levi interrupted my internal monologue. “This looks you were working with that werewolf the whole time. You helped him attack your own unit members didn’t you? How else could a single werewolf kill 7 armed vampires? Then you moved onto the next vampire base and used your pitiful, little kitten act to get us to believe your cover story.”

I could’ve sworn I saw pain flash across his eyes, and my conjecture was validated when he spoke again, more softly than before. “I can’t believe I actually felt sorry for you. I can’t believe I fell for that little show you put on about your family dying.” His expression hardened, and the pained look in his eyes was gone as fast as it had come. “You’re acting was very convincing, kid, I’ll give you that. It was all a lie though wasn’t it? It was all a tactical strategy to get inside our walls and uncover information on our defenses. Now you’re here to tell that werewolf everything you know aren’t you? Can you even deny it _Julian_?” He spat my name like it offended him just to articulate the syllables.

My jaw dropped and my mind finally caught up with what he was saying. Well there was good new in all this. He hadn’t found out that I was a werewolf. The bad news? He thought I had betrayed the entire vampire race by working with a werewolf which was basically just as bad as if he knew that I actually was a werewolf, and he was now about two seconds from ripping my head off.

My survival instincts must have kicked in because my mouth finally gained the ability to speak. I knew I had to choose my next words very carefully because my life depended on how well I was able to convince Levi of my innocence in these next few seconds.

Somehow, miraculously, instead of blanking like my mind would normally do in these kinds of situations, the perfect explanation popped into my head that could possibly resolve this whole nightmare and not end in me getting killed.

At least I really hoped so.

I looked him dead in the eye with a confidence I didn’t know I could possess when a vampire was sitting on my stomach and pulling a fistful of my hair. I could see his anger waver slightly at my expression, and a hint of doubt crossed his eyes.

That was all the permission I needed to start speaking. “Look, this isn’t what you think it is, Corporal, I swear. This is just one giant, really really messed up misunderstanding that does not at all involve me working with werewolves or committing some other unforgivable act of treason. Really.” Smooth as sandpaper, Eren.

He raised his eyebrows to let me know I could continue. I took a deep breath, and then words just started tumbling out of my mouth. ““After training today, I was walking back to my quarters when I thought I could smell the faintest hint of werewolf scent in the air. I decided not to call for back-up since the scent was so faint I would probably lose the werewolf’s trail by then, so I started tracking the scent until it led me to the front gates. Then I saw the russet brown werewolf run off into the forest. The same werewolf that _murdered my entire squad_.”

It was a little odd to refer to myself as my own enemy, but I was actually getting really invested in the story I was devising and I didn’t have any trouble putting a look of pure rage on my face. “I wanted to get revenge for what it did to my unit – my friends – and I knew if I alerted the rest of the base about the werewolf, I wouldn’t get to be the one to end its miserable life. Instead, I decided to sneak out of the base and take it on one-on-one.”

I let out a shaky breath, as if consumed with emotion from the whole ordeal. I mean it was kind of true. I was a little emotional at the moment. I had just been seconds away from getting my head ripped off by a vampire, and if that isn’t emotional I don’t know what is.

“So I followed it into the forest,” I continued when Levi remained silent. I had no idea whether he believed me or not, so my rattled nerves decided the best course of action was to ramble on. “But the rain must have washed away its scent because by the time I got there I couldn’t figure out which way it went. Since I was injured from crawling underneath the front gates, I decided to give up the chase for now and head back to the base. That’s when I ran into you.”

I exhaled deeply with a note of finality to let him know that my story was over, and looked up tentatively to read his expression.

I was relieved when I saw that the suspicion was mostly gone from his face, and had been transitioned to thoughtful perplexity. I could tell he was processing my story to see if there were any gaps or inconsistencies. I prayed that there were none.

After a few long moments, he let out a sigh and turned to look at me. “Alright, let’s say I believe you. Except-” The suspicion returned to his features, and he raised an eyebrow skeptically. “You say that you detected the werewolf’s scent within the base and that’s when you started trailing it. However, I was following right behind you the entire time, kid, and I didn’t once detect even the faintest hint of a werewolf’s scent. How would a rookie like you be able to pick up on a werewolf’s scent, but not a seasoned soldier like me?”

Shit. I racked my brain trying to think of a plausible answer, but nothing came to mind. My earlier ability to come up with creative responses on the spot must have been a one time thing. Being socially adept Eren was nice while it lasted, but now it was time to return to awkward, doesn’t-know-what-the-hell-he’s-doing Eren.

His eyes narrowed and I knew he was going to start another accusation tirade very soon if I didn’t start talking. I ended up just blurting out the first thing came to mind. “Well…I guess I didn’t smell the werewolf’s scent exactly. It was more like I sensed that he was near. It was the same feeling you get when you can just tell that someone is in a room with you even though you can’t physically sense them. You can still somehow detect their presence.”

His eyes widened at my logical explanation, and I must have looked just as surprised as he did because I was not expecting to come up with such a solid reason on the spot. Socially adept Eren lives on.

After a moment of reflection, I realized why I had said that. I knew how to answer his question because I had felt that same way when my village had been attack. That night when I had gone on a run, I had the feeling that something wasn’t quite right. It was almost like I had a 6th sense that could detect danger.

Levi was still looking at me incredulously as if I had just sprouted wings and flown away towards the heavens. I knew he wasn’t expecting such a solid answer, and I had to suppress the triumphant smile threatening to spread across my face.

Levi must have deemed my story worthy because the crushing weight – I didn’t even want to know how much muscle this man had to make him so heavy – left my stomach as he got up off of me.

When he offered his hand to help me up, I just stared down at it in astonishment.

Here he goes again! One second he’s about to rip me apart limb from limb, and then he goes and offers to help me stand up when _he_ was the one that knocked me down in the first place!

I numbly took his hand, not wanting to get on his bad side again, and also because I knew my shaky legs could use the help. His hand was just as cold as before, and I could feel the iciness creeping onto my skin. It wasn’t unpleasant, and I actually relished the way the cold soothed my slightly clammy hands.

He deftly lifted me off the ground, and let go of my hand as soon as I was standing. However, my legs were still pretty unsteady and I was just about to topple over again when he effortlessly caught me in his arms making it so that I fell against his sturdy body instead of the hard ground. A startled yelp sounded in my ears.

He smirked at me and I realized that the incredibly mortifying sound I had heard just now was my own cry of surprise. My cheeks burned and I knew that my chagrin was probably blatantly displayed on my face in a bright red blush.

“You’re a troublesome brat, you know that?”

My embarrassment was instantly replaced with anger and before I could stop myself, my big mouth decided to say exactly what I was thinking. “ _I’m_ troublesome? You were the one that tossed me through the air like I weighed nothing more than a potato, made me crash into a tree, choked me and accused me of being a traitor and _you_ are calling _me_ troublesome? That’s like calling the kettle black.”

“It’s not my fault you’re high maintenance.”

“High maintenance?! _I’m_ high maintanence? _Me_?!?! Why you-” I think my voice was exploring new levels of the word shrill, but I didn’t have time to be embarrassed about that because panic was beginning to set into my body. I could actually feel the blood drain from my face. That must have pissed him off. I wouldn’t put it past him to kill me now purely out of spite. Damnit, I must have a death wish for how stupid I can be sometimes. And I had just resolved the situation too!

To my absolute amazement, Levi didn’t try to kill me and he didn’t even rebuke me for my comment. No. Instead, he laughed. He actually laughed. He tilted his head back, and let out a deep, breathy chuckle that seemed to rumble in the back of his throat, and I had to say, it was probably the most seductive sound I had ever heard in my entire life.

_Wait what was I thinking?!_

Levi took one look at the bewildered expression on my face, and laughed again. The most intimidating vampire I had ever met - who had been ready to kill me a few seconds ago - just laughed twice. _Twice!_ And _I_   had been the cause of his laughter.

My mouth was still hanging open when he finished laughing, and he rolled his eyes at me. “You do realize I’m capable of laughter right? I am a person after all. I can find the humor in a situation every once in a while and Jesus, kid, you should have seen you’re face-” He burst into another bout of laughter.

And just like that I was irritated again. God, this man knew how to press my buttons. “No, no I get it. I can totally understand why my suffering would be humorous to you,” I remarked sarcastically.

My derisive comment had no effect on him. He only shot me an amused smile, his eyes glistening, and countered my statement with a tone that was almost playful. “I’m glad you understand me.”

_He can smile too?!_

His smile faltered _._ “Kid, if you’re going to have an aneurysm every time I show the slightest bit of emotion, you are going to be in for an unpleasant surprise whenever we have a conversation.”

For some reason, a small part of me reveled in the fact that he had implied that we would be having more conversations and quite frankly that desire shocked me… Why would I want to have more conversations with a vampire? I vampire I didn't even like at that. It was pure lunacy.

However, his comment also incited my ever present anger and those were the feelings I acted on. “Well just based off our last few ‘conversations’ I didn’t actually have any idea you were capable of feeling anything besides contempt and annoyance,” I snapped harshly. “Oh and let’s not forget how you beat the shit out of me when we first met. Was that when you were expecting me to find out about your supposed sense of humor? Please, enlighten me.”

I was glaring at him by the time I was done speaking, my rage growing the more this conversation went on. This was starting to become a pattern with Levi. I was in a perpetual state of anger or surprise.

His next action continued to conform to this mold. To my surprise, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, suddenly looking much older. I mean I had been trying to guilt trip him, but I didn’t actually expect it to work. None of my other attempts had perturbed him in the slightest, so this reaction seemed a bit atypical coming from him.

After a few moments of contemplation, he reopened his eyes and turned to face me. “Look kid, I know we got off to a bad start – well several bad starts actually – and I owe you an apology.”

Yup, that was probably the very last thing I had expected to come out of Levi’s mouth.

“Seriously kid, would you stop looking so shocked that I actually have a sense of decency? I’m trying to apologize for being an asshole and you’re throwing me off. Could you just-” He let out a frustrated groan and pressed hands to his temples as if this whole ordeal had given him a headache. He sighed which seemed to pacify his frustration a bit, and then lowered his hands in conjunction of lifting his head so he could look me directly in the eye.

His voice was very level when he spoke. “Just let me talk for a minute, ok?”

I nodded stiffly; still disbelieving of the fact that Levi was actually trying to apologize to me.

He looked away for a moment as if trying to figure out where to begin, and then his gaze locked in on mine again with such piercing sincerity that I almost had to look away. Almost.

“Ok look, when I first met you I have to admit that I judged you a little bit. I saw that defiant look in your eyes and took you for some rebellious kid that thought you were invincible and superior to everyone. That’s why I treated you harshly at training the other day. I was trying to show you that you weren’t invincible because when you go up against a werewolf, you’re not. Anything can happen. Even the most seasoned, skilled soldiers can die when a werewolf slashes them with their claws or…”

He swallowed abruptly, pain crossing his face. “…Or rips their throats out.” He took a shaky breath before continuing, and I couldn’t help but wonder what the significance of that statement was.

“Anyway, I’m not very good with words so I just assumed you knew why I was treating you the way I did. Obviously you didn’t because how could you? I never told you. I just expected you to automatically understand that I wasn’t harsh with you out of hatred, but because I wanted to prepare you for a real battle. Then when I saw you later that day, I was so surprised by just how much you had mistaken my actions that I kind of overreacted. I shouldn’t have judged you and I shouldn’t have assumed you didn’t know anything about werewolves when you probably have had more harrowing experiences with them than anyone should ever have to endure and I…I shouldn’t have put you in a position where you had to defend yourself by bringing up your past like that. That was ignorant and inconsiderate of me and I apologize.”

He looked almost vulnerable after he finished speaking. The moment passed quickly though and suddenly his expression hardened. “I admit I was wrong about a lot of things kid, but don’t think that I’m not incredibly pissed off at you right now.”

He walked straight up to me and grabbed a hold of my chin so I had no choice but to look him directly in the eye. “You knew that werewolf was capable of single-handedly killing 7 vampires, and yet you took it upon yourself to go after it alone with absolutely no back up, and all for the sake of revenge.”

He let go of me, but the warning raise of his eyebrows told me that if I looked away he wouldn’t hesitate to grab hold of me again. I couldn’t look away even if I wanted to. My gaze was locked on his fiery eyes that held more emotion in that one moment than I had ever seen before.

“Don’t get me wrong brat, I am no stranger to wanting to get revenge. That’s not why I’m mad.”

“Then why are you mad?” I asked without thinking, genuinely curious to know what I had done to put so much emotion in his eyes. It went against every fiber of my being to ask that question because I knew vampires weren’t able to feel emotions, but for some reason the words left my mouth anyway. It must have something to do with the way he was looking at me right now because the more I gazed into his eyes, the harder and harder it was getting to remember that Levi was a vampire and my sworn enemy.

“Because you could have died, Julian.”

My mind went blank when his tongue danced over the name in a soft, delicate manner comparative to the way someone would handle a fragile piece of artwork. It almost didn’t matter that it wasn’t my real name. He finally articulated the name in a way that wasn’t full of animosity or wrath and as soon as he said it, I found myself craving to hear him say it again and again. The hint of fear in his voice revealed that I was actually significant enough to have made him worry, and that thought alone had me completely enchanted.

Suddenly, I found myself wishing that that my name actually was Julian just so that I could ignore the glaring guilt in the back of mind that made me inordinately aware that our entire relationship was based off of a lie – even my name. For a brief moment of foolishness, I wanted to tell him my real name just so that he could at least know one real thing about me. I couldn’t help but wonder what the name Eren would sound like coming from his lips. It would probably sound exquisite.

My whole body seemed to be screaming at me to remember something important about Levi, but it couldn’t have been as important as the way he was tenderly looking at me like he had been legitimately worried and was relieved that I hadn’t been killed.

I wanted to say something in return – something incredibly embarrassing along the lines of “Thanks for being worried about me” - but I only got as far as “Th-” when the cuts along my back suddenly throbbed violently and my words were swallowed with a cry of pain.

Levi’s face instantly filled with concern, and before I even realized he had started moving, he had whirled me around by the shoulders and was examining my injury with heavy scrutiny.

“Jesus kid why didn’t you tell me your injuries were this severe?!” He growled angrily, the concern on his face mollifying the sharpness of his tone. “We have to get you immediate medical attention.”

I thought that maybe the world was spinning because of my dizziness, but a moment later I realized it was because Levi had whisked me into his arms bridal style, and was now sprinting in the direction of the base.

I wanted to protest and demand that he put me down, but I was just so comfortable that, instead, I curled deeper into his arms.

I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I found myself stealing a glance up at the man carrying me. The last thing I remember before passing out is how beautiful Levi looked when he was determined. I was so delirious at the time that I wouldn’t even remember thinking that until much, much later.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the ereri is finally getting somewhere. I know you were all probably thinking "Is this a gay ereri fic, or a platonic bromance?" And to that I say, here, take this sexual tension!
> 
> See you sometime in the unforeseeable future when I finally post the next chapter! ;)


	17. Two Unexpected Turns and One Very Expected Turn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF BLOOD (Levi's POV, paragraph 5)
> 
> Ok here's chapter 17 for you-- Wait what?! No, I'm not dead! Oh why haven't I updated in 9 months? Ummmm... pass?
> 
> So just to clear things up, this story is NOT discontinued. I've still got big plans for this fucker. XD Yeah I know what you're thinking. How can I have big plans for this fic when it took me x amount of days (I don't even want to know how many...) to write one 4000 word chapter? And to that I show you my 20 page word document with all my plot ideas... I'm not sure if that helps my point or just proves that I have no life...
> 
> Anyway, I'm going to do my best to update more often. Next semester, I'll only be taking 13 credits instead of 20. (Yeah I know I'm a masochist T.T) so maybe I'll actually get to write! And sleep too! Even if I don't end up finishing this story, I am determined to at least get to the big "Eren is a werewolf" reveal. Mostly because 1. I already wrote it and 2. You can rip that cliche out of my cold, dead hands. But I'm ambitious, so the plan is to finish it. 
> 
> But like, can I just say it warms my sleep deprived, caffeine ridden heart to know that you guys even want me to update this?! THANK YOU SO MUCH to every who has taken actual time out of their lives to read this, and THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has commented. I do read every single one, and I really appreciate them.
> 
> Also, BIG SHOUT OUT to my sister who helped IMMENSELY with this chapter. If it wasn't for her, you would be getting actual shit for internal monologue, and grammar that rivals that of a kindergartner. 
> 
> So, uh... Good luck I guess? Happy reading? Idk just go. ;)

~ Mikasa ~

 

_SLAM!_

The bars of my cell rattled deafeningly as my shoulder, once again, impacted the sturdy metal with bruising force.

I had to repress a groan of defeat as my efforts didn’t even manage to dent the bars.

My determination to get free, and find Eren seemed to intensify with every second I was stuck in this shitty vampire prison. The small, angry vampire named Levi hadn’t been back to interrogate me since the first time, and I knew that couldn’t mean anything good. If he was too busy to question me, he was probably devoting all of his time into looking for Eren.

That meant I was racing against the clock. If I wanted to keep my brother alive, I had to find him and warn him before Levi got to him.

Unfortunately, my attempts to escape were getting nowhere. I crashed into the bars of my cell again, more out of frustration than an actual effort to dent them. _It was useless_. Even if I did manage to somehow force my way past the sturdy bars of my cell, I was still chained to the wall. I did let out a groan of defeat this time upon hearing the rattling of the bars and clanging of chains echo in the small space reminding me just how trapped I was.

I froze as the sound of a high-pitched giggle joined the echo of rattling bars.

“Well that’s the most pathetic escape attempt I’ve ever seen,” the voice said. A _female_ voice, I noticed with a hint of surprise. I had assumed that the only visitor I would be getting down here was Stick-Up-His-Ass Levi.

 She was still breathless from laughter when she went on. “Well, I hope you figured out by now that metal bars are definitely stronger than a werewolf. I could have told you that much.”

The condescending tone of her voice irritated me, and an angry growl stirred in my throat. I strained to see this new visitor, but all I could make out in the blackness was the petite figure of a vampire girl.

I hadn’t spoken in days, so my voice was rough when I shot a response back at her. “Then you’ve never seen a werewolf angry before. You would be surprised how powerful a werewolf’s rage can be.” I wasn’t usually one for petty taunts, but my failed escape attempts had me so frustrated that my patience was all but gone at this point. Especially now that I was in the presence of a vampire.

My eyes narrowed reprovingly as she giggled again. “Oh, believe me, I know _exactly_ what the rage of a werewolf is capable of.”

I was about to mutter a caustic response, but then she stepped into my field of vision, and my focus was directed towards surveying this new threat. It was still hard to see, but I could now make out two piercing green eyes, messy pigtails jutting out at ridiculous angles from her head, and a mouth that was quirked in a smirking expression. Her arrogance was evident in the way she was standing: one hip cocked to the side, and both hands resting on her hips. She also seemed to be very young; I would be shocked if she was any older than thirteen or fourteen.

I watched her warily. I didn’t know a lot about how the vampires did things, but sending a young girl to interrogate a werewolf prisoner did not seem like their m.o. An unsettling feeling started to pool in my stomach at the abnormality of the situation. I took a deep breath, and tried to calm my frayed nerves. Even though I didn’t know what the vampires were up to, I did know that they were schemers. There was certainly some nefarious, underlying motive behind this encounter, and I would have to tackle this very cautiously.

The vampire girl was the one who eventually broke the silence. “I’m Isabel by the way. What’s your name?” She posed the question conversationally, as if she wasn’t my sworn enemy, but a friendly passerby wanting to strike up some casual chit chat. The stark contrast of Isabel’s interrogation method compared with the last vampire’s was suspicious, and it caught me a little off guard. Maybe that was the point.

“My name is none of your business,” I finally said.

“Aw, that’s no fun!” She whined, stamping her foot and curling her lips into a pout. “I want to know more about you! You’re very unique, ya know.” Her tone suddenly changed to one of intrigue, and I was caught off guard again. Didn’t she want to know more about Eren like the last vampire did? Why was she interested in me?

“Why do you say that?” I asked guardedly. I knew that I was giving her the response she obviously wanted, but I was too curious not to ask.

Even though my view of her was obscured by the dark, I could clearly make out the glittering excitement in her eyes. “Isn’t it obvious? You’re the first prisoner the vampires have taken in I can’t even remember how long! You could be the Achilles heel we’ve been waiting for.”

For the first time since meeting Isabel, I heard a darkness in her voice that made me realize despite her seemingly harmless appearance, this was someone who was potentially very dangerous. She seemed even more dangerous in that moment because what she was saying didn’t make any sense at all. Why was she talking about the vampires as if they were her enemy?

_Unless…_

“You could be our key to taking down the vampires.”

 Then all my confusion dissipated immediately and culminated in a flood of understanding that should have been obvious from the start.

This time when she laughed, the sound was much more inviting than it had been before.

“Oh honey, you didn’t realize I was a werewolf too?”

 

~ Levi ~

 

“ _Out of my way_.”

I saw the young recruit visibly recoil at my severe tone, and before he had a chance to comply, I had already pushed past him.

Storming my way into the base with an injured Julian in tow was a spectacle that had not gone unnoticed, and, to my dismay, a crowd had begun to form. I was bombarded with an onslaught of irritating questions like, “What happened!” and “Wait, isn’t that the new recruit? Is he ok?” as well as variety of other speculations that I had neither the time nor the patience for.

I brushed past the rest of the crowd with the same ease as I had with the first soldier, and made my way towards the only place I knew would grant me the quiet setting I needed to tend to Julian’s injury.  

I burst into my quarters, and set Julian down gingerly on my bed, careful not to jolt the sensitive skin of his back. Even though the crimson gouges along his back – now sticky and crusted with dried blood -- flagrantly revealed the gravity of the situation, his face was contradictorily peaceful and relaxed. Given he was currently lying on my bed, he almost appeared to be sleeping.

I shook my head, dispelling such unproductive thoughts, and retrieved the first aid kit from my closet. I quickly found what I needed – alcohol, gauze, and bandages. Just the sight of these supplies caused a whirlwind of unwanted memories to resurface, and I had to pause for a moment to let my nausea die down.    

As I started treating his wound, I made a mental note to give the brat stern a lecture later. Passing out from such a minor injury was unheard of, and I quickly deduced that he wasn’t eating enough. I did empathize with him, having gone through a similar predicament myself, but I refused to let one of my squad members wither away until they were so weak that they could barely handle a scratch like this. A weakened physical state on the battlefield was a recipe for disaster.

I finished thoroughly disinfecting the wound, and proceeded to wrap it with gauze and bandages. As I meticulously wound the soft material around Julian’s torso, I couldn’t help but marvel at the incredible irony of my current situation. Earlier that day, I had considered Julian to be an intriguing new addition to my squad, and I had even begun to develop a moderate fascination with him. Then, that same day, I had gone from finding him somewhat fascinating to finding him profoundly repulsive. That was the only way one could describe somebody that had betrayed their own race, and, in my eyes, that was a crime punishable by death.

At least death had been my plan at first. Not only had I not ended up killing Julian, but I was now personally stitching up his injury in my own bedroom. I couldn’t often find the comedy in most situations, but there was a particularly twisted sense of humor in this case that I found almost funny.

Truth be told, I considered the new recruit to be more fascinating than ever. Albeit, a little idiotic, because what normal person decides to take on such a formidable enemy singlehandedly? Not to say that I wouldn’t do the exact same thing, but I stood a much better chance with my skills and experience than an amateur like Julian.

Was Julian an amateur though? I mean I had personally seen how woefully lacking his combat skills were at training the other day. Yet, that didn’t quite line up with the facts. I didn’t understand how a rookie like Julian could be the lone survivor of an attack that took out seven trained vampire soldiers. It was just another mystery surrounding the inexplicable brat.

There must be something more to him that wasn’t apparent at first glance. I put down the extra bandages I had just been folding, and gazed at him thoughtfully from my desk chair that I had dragged next to the bed. He had a very unassuming look about him with his youthful face, messy brown hair, and lanky build. Even so, I would be interested to see how he would perform on our next mission.

As if on cue, a low moan sounded from the figure on my bed. Then Julian opened his eyes, and started to blink rapidly in groggy confusion.

“It’s about time you woke up, brat,” I remarked casually, tilting my head to the side and resting it in my hand. “How you could sleep through those deafening gates opening is beyond me.”

He froze at the sound of my voice, and I scoffed.

“Relax kid,” I said, more in annoyance than an actual attempt to reassure him. “You’re in my quarters, not an enemy camp.” 

He sat up stiffly, wincing slightly at the movement, and then inhaled sharply when he noticed my handiwork of bandages. “What the hell did you do to me?”

I raised my eyebrows in response to the cutting glare he gave me. “Hmmm? Well for a start, I dragged your unconscious ass back to the base. Then after that, I bandaged you up.” My face was impassive as I wryly pointed at the bandages encasing his torso. ”I assumed that would have been explicit given the _bandages_ and all.”

He meticulously looked over the bandages for a moment, and then shot me another accusatory glare. The fuck? Did he honestly think I did some weird, depraved thing to him while he was unconscious? I don’t consider myself the most trustworthy guy ever, but this was bordering paranoia.

“Oh wait,” I pressed my palm to my forehead, pretending to remember something. “Are you talking about the poison I coated the bandages with? Or maybe you’re thinking of the hallucinogen I injected you with while you were out?”

His eyes widened in alarm. _Jesus Christ, was this kid for real?_

I rolled my eyes, and leaned back in my chair. “Since you can’t seem to understand the meaning of sarcasm, let me rephrase. All I _‘did to you’_ was disinfect and bandage your wound. I assure you it will never happen again.” 

Julian was uncharacteristically quiet, staring at a fixed point on the ground and absently picking at the bandages that I had just carefully wrapped him with.

I decided to say so. “Hmmm? No other conspiracy theories you want to share? No questions, comments, or concerns? No advice on how I could do my job better?”

Julian didn’t seem to hear me, a look of confusion now spreading across his face.

I cleared my throat impatiently. “Oi, kid. Is there something you would like to share with the class? Because you look like you’re constipated…Or maybe you need to puke. It’s hard to tell.”

“What? No!” he said, defensively, snapping out of his reverie.

“It’s not a crime if you need to take a shit you know. Or are you nauseous? You never confirmed which it was.”

“Oh my god, neither!” he insisted, fixing me with a look of disgust.

I hummed in response. “Glad we cleared that—“

“Why did you do it?” he interrupted sharply, giving me a weird look.

Now it was my turn to be confused. “It? Thanks kid, that’s very specific. Not that I wouldn’t love to go into the gritty detail of why I do what I do, but I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”

The damn brat glared at my skeptically, doubtful of my ignorant display. Then he gave me that weird look again with his brows furrowed and his lips shut in a thin line, knuckles tightly clutching the bedsheets. He was angry.

“I think you know exactly what I’m talking about,” he accused with barely contained rage. He took a heavy breath, and continued, voice rising in volume. “And it’s not going to work. I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish exactly, but if you think that you can blackmail me with this, or – or make me your puppet, I can tell you right now that it’s not going to happen.”

His eyes bored into mine, their intensity amplified by my close proximity to them. Torrid fury teemed in their depths, and even though the fury was aimed at me, it was difficult to care when the brightest eyes I had ever seen in my entire life had their complete attention on me. I wanted to say they were the color of the ocean, but the ocean was too dull to be an accurate comparison. Maybe an emerald? No, those were dark green, but I’m sure if it was held up to the light, it would capture the same kind of sparkle.

My thoughts were halted once I remembered that those eyes were on me for a reason. I crossed my legs, and methodically folded my arms across my chest. “I don’t really have any use for a puppet, and blackmail is far too much work for my taste,” I replied conversationally. “And what’s the point? They’ll just end up stabbing you in the back. It’s a lose-lose situation.”

His face turned red, and he opened his mouth, probably to shout again. However, when I held up my hand and cast him a warning look, his mouth snapped shut.

“Look, kid,” I began, all trace of my sarcasm gone. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. All I know is that you were injured, I brought you back to the base, and now here we are. Unless I’m forgetting something very important that happened during that time frame, I don’t see what the problem is.”

His anger drained away, but the contempt remained. “Then what are you trying to accomplish here?”

I cocked my head and just stared at him, contemplating for a moment. He returned my gaze with a withering glare. Then I leaned forward abruptly, invasively getting within a few inches of him.

Julian instantly flinched away, reflexively lifting his hands up to protect his face.

He turned red once he realized what he had done, and tried to play it off by clumsily running his hands through his hair.

“You got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered under my breath, my comment directed to no one in particular. As I took in Julian’s agitated state, I realized that this was a completely different person than the one I had encountered in the forest. That person hadn’t liked me either, but he hadn’t been so on edge like he was now.  This person sitting across from me, muscles taut and ready to spring at a moment’s notice, genuinely considered me to be a threat.

_Why was he so convinced I wanted to hurt him?_

_“_ Hey Kid—“

“My name is E-er-Julian,” the kid immediately bit back.

“Yeah ok, E-er-Julian, and my name is fucking Jesus Christ,” I snapped, not pleased with the interruption. Then I blurted out, a little incredulously, “You do know that I’m not going to kill you, right?”

My question seemed to make him uneasy, and after a few moments, he replied with a forced, “Well, you did beat the shit out of me at training, and threatened to kill me a few hours ago. It’s not a crazy thing to assume.” He didn’t meet my eyes.

“Uh-uh, no,” I concluded, certain of my deduction. “No, there’s something else. Something you’re not telling me.” I leaned forward, my gaze locked on the boy in front of me. “What is it?”

He returned my gaze with a look that I assumed was meant to be intimidating. “Fuck you,” he spat.

I snorted. It was like watching a bunny try to be threatening. “Aw, aren’t you cute,” I drawled.

 “I’m not fucking cute, asshole!” he yelled at me, standing upright from his position on my bed. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I held up my hands in mock remorse. “I meant incredibly fierce and vicious.”

Julian glowered at me in revulsion. “Oh, I get it. You’re pissed off. You wanted me to thank you, didn’t you? You expected me to be grateful to you for bringing me back against my will, and touching me without my permission. Is this not the reaction you were expecting? Well, newsflash, you aren’t some fucking hero. You’re _despicable_.”

He went to stride past me, but I snatched his wrist, my patience having snapped.

He tried to jerk it away, but his strength was nothing compared to mine, even with the current restraint I was employing. I narrowed my eyes imperiously at him and growled, “You’re right, I don’t have any delusions of being a hero. The next time you try to sneak out of the base, I won’t be nearly so kind, _Julian_.”

I let go of his wrist. He looked like he was about to start shouting at me, but instead he just shook his head furiously and stormed out the door.

I didn’t watch him go. Instead, I grabbed the excess bandages I had just painstakingly folded and tore them to pieces, letting the shreds sink to the floor.

 

~Erwin~

 

“Check.”

The old man smiled triumphantly, delighted that he might have actually won this time.

It couldn’t be disputed that Commander Dot Pixis was a clever chess player, as well as a very stubborn opponent, and it was one reason why I looked forward to his occasional visits from his headquarters in Sina.

However, he never seemed to be quite clever enough to beat _me_.

I let him sit in anticipation for a moment longer before I slowly picked up a knight, and placed it one move away from taking his king.

“Checkmate,” I said coolly, feeling neither pride nor excitement at having won yet again.

“Aw Erwin,” Pixis entreated with a good-natured smile. “You would think that you could let me win at least once after all we’ve been through.”

“Not a chance, Dot.”

He laughed heartily, and took a swig from a flask he pulled out of his pocket.

“That’s the problem with you, Erwin. You don’t pick your battles. You want to win all of them.” He winked, and raised his flask in the air. “And the fact that you don’t drink.”

I laughed at his ridiculous display before replying to his analysis of me. “But Dot, when faced with a weaker opponent, aren’t I obligated to utilize their weaknesses to my advantage?”

He pondered that for a moment, and took another swig from the flask. “Hmmm, not necessarily,” he articulated slowly with an air of mystery.  “You see, if you win the game too much, you do gain the satisfaction of victory, but you lose something even more valuable.”

“Hmmm, and what’s that? “ I asked, curious as to what trick this eccentric man had up his sleeve now.

“The element of surprise!” He exclaimed theatrically, throwing his hand out to knock over my king that had been standing upright on the chessboard. “You see, after playing chess with you enough, I know for certain that you will win if we play by the rules, and after awhile, it is simply expected that we both play by the rules.

I nodded in agreement. “Makes sense.” 

“Ah, but…” He pointed at my king, now knocked to the ground. “What if I decide that I don’t want to play by the rules anymore? You won’t expect me to cheat because I have never done so before, and I will expect you to play by the rules as you have always done. Then, I can strike when you least expect it.” He tutted his tongue disapprovingly. “By winning so much, you actually handed your opponent the perfect mechanism in which to take you down.”

“I see,” I murmured pensively. “Quite ironic, isn’t it?”

Pixis laughed. “Indeed, there’s far too much irony in this world for my taste. Now, _that’s_ why I drink so much.”

“Dot,” I said gravely, changing the subject. “You know I have to do this, right?”

“Mmmm,” he deliberated for a moment. “I know that you’re convinced that’s the only way we’re going to defeat them.”

“Do you know of another way?” I inquired, spinning the conversation back to him. “How can I take out their king without giving them the chance to take out mine?”

“Well, you know if you do this, they’re going to be expecting you. That means you're opening up the possibility for them to have a wild card, and deal a blow we’re not expecting. But!” Pixis narrowed his eyes shrewdly, and picked up the king again. “What if we’re expecting them to do something unexpected?

I was once again reminded why Pixis was a very valuable resource to have. “Interesting,” I murmured before standing up and pacing the room for awhile

Finally, after some deliberation, I sat back down across from Pixis and declared, resolutely, “We’ll carry out the mission as planned.”

Pixis’s brow furrowed. “Erwin, you do have a plan correct?”

“Yes, old friend.” I picked up a queen from the chessboard, and handed it to him.  “You’re forgetting that we have Grisha Jaeger’s son, Eren Jaeger.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANKS FOR READING!
> 
> So, there were actual plot twists in this chapter! I realize this story isn't exactly the most unpredictable, so I decided to mix things up a bit hahaha! Did it work? Did I surprise you?
> 
> Also, you can thank my sister for the part where Levi is trying to figure out Eren's eye color because I almost didn't include it. I'm really glad I did though because its my favorite thing ever, ooc Levi be damned.


	18. The Battle of Wills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *TRIGGER WARNINGS*  
> SUICIDAL THOUGHTS. BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF BLOOD.
> 
> Surprise! I'm updating a week after the last update! (Sort of... 8 days is basically a week ok) You all probably thought hell would freeze over before that happened, didn't you? Yeah, I did too...
> 
> So, I originally planned on this being a fairly short chapter, but then I just kept writing... and writing... and almost 7000 words later, here we are. xD You will probably still be reading this by the time I eventually post the next chapter, so you better get started!

~ Levi’s POV ~

 

I sprinted as fast as my weak legs could carry me, adrenaline forcing my muscles to push past their limits. I didn’t even know where I was going, everything around me blurring into a flurry of dull colors and abstract shapes. It didn’t matter where really, as long as I moved forward. However, that was a feat that seemed to be getting harder and harder to accomplish with every passing second. My whole body ached, and every part felt like it was screaming at me to slow down, but my mind was screaming just as loud to speed up. I tucked my hand into my jacket, checking to see if my precious cargo was still there, and just merely touching it somehow helped my legs to accelerate their already rapid pace. I knew victory was tantalizingly near if I kept this up.

My ephemeral good fortune reached an abrupt end as something in the road caught my foot with a jolt and a clattering sound, sending my whole body careening brutally into the ground. I heard something crack, but I barely even registered the pain, too focused on getting my foot out of whatever it had become ensnared in.  

Glancing down, I couldn’t miss the cruel irony surrounding the fact that the object that had caught my foot and sabotaged my plan was a bird cage.  

“Well, would you look at this little mouse caught in a cage? Ain’t this a pretty sight, boys?” a gruff voice snickered, and my heart sunk. “You see this, you fucking runt?” The man kicked my leg still stuck in the cage, and as agonizing pain ripped through my calf, I realized belatedly that that was probably the source of the cracking sound I had heard earlier. When I let out a pained grunt, the man laughed again. “This is what happens to vamps like you who think they can steal from me.”

“Um boss?” A whiny voice spoke up timidly.

“What is it?” Gruff Man barked.

I looked up and saw a thin, gangly man pointing at the ground. I followed his finger to the puddle of blood on the ground, and what had originally been the contents of my package. It must have fallen out of my pocket and burst. The wonderful smell overcame all my other senses, and desire coursed through me, every inch of my body craving the vitality that was just out of reach. My starving body was delirious with thirst, and the simple solution to my problem was just a few feet away. Somehow, the things I wanted were always infinitely just out of reach.

At least I wasn’t the only one who had gotten screwed over. I let out a breathy chuckle as the man who had kicked me turned red, the veins popping out of his forehead.

“Shut up, you!” The man roared, making a move to kick me again. Before he could, however, I quickly rolled to the side, and kicked my broken leg up into the air, wincing at the sharp pain the movement caused. It was completely worth it when the bird cage flew off my foot, and hit the man square in the face.

“Ack!” The man and all his cronies were stunned silent for a few moments, giving me ample time to stand up and grab the nearest weapon I could find: a pineapple off of an adjacent fruit stand.

I could hear the owner of the fruit stand shout protests, but I had already brandished the makeshift weapon by the green spines and held it out in front of me, taking an offensive stance. The position put strain on my injured leg, and almost caused me to buckle before I was even attacked.

I momentarily forgot the pain as four men broke off from the group and surrounded me, holding up their fists and slowly shuffling forward. The gap between me and them was quickly closing, and my survivals instincts kicked into gear. As soon as one of them was within range, I hurled my good leg at him with all my strength, and sent him flying backwards. During my attack, one of the other men went to punch me, but I ducked mid-kick and uppercut him with the pineapple, the spindles forming bloody welts across his face. The other two men looked at each other before lunging at me in a joint effort to take me out, but I rolled to the side, effectively dodging their attack. I stood up, and went to get a running start so that I could body slam one of the guys, but my bad leg ended up buckling. Fortunately, I fell right on one of the guys and managed to use my momentum while falling to push the first guy into the second guy. We all fell to the ground in a tumble of limbs. I ended up landing on top, and managed to get my bearings before the others.

I stood up dazedly, only to come face to face with the rest of the men from the group. I counted six before I had to stop, and deal with the wall of men darting towards me.

My body must have gone into autopilot because as soon as I was cognizant of my surroundings again, all of the men were on the ground, groaning in pain, and the pineapple in my hand was coated in blood. I wanted to join them on the ground, wishing to rest more than anything, but I forced myself to remain standing. The fruit stall man was still there, and after having seen the events unfold, offered me another pineapple with shaking hands.

I walked past him, away from the chaos I had caused, and focused on escaping before they all got back up again.

However, I only got a few feet before Gruff Man stepped out in front of me, blocking my path. I looked down at the object he was holding. It was a gun.

I stared at the wide-eyed man for a moment before snorting in laughter. I laughed for a good few seconds, delirious, gasping spasms of laughter. I was still laughing when I managed to choke out, “Would have made things easier for the both of us if you had just started with that.”

The man blanched, and backed away from me. “You’re insane,” he said, holding up the gun and aiming it at me with a trembling hand. “No--No normal vampire can just do that. Can just take out all of my trained vampires single-handedly.”

“Trained? Trained my ass.” I scoffed. “Anyone could easily take out that spawn of idiots. It was like fighting a bunch of kids. Actually, that’s insulting to kids.” I chuckled, and started stumbling towards him, dizzy from starvation and exertion.

As I walked forward, I stared down the barrel of his gun, entranced by the sight of it. It was getting harder to remember why I was trying to stay alive in the first place. I soon found myself wanting him to pull the trigger. I wanted him to end it all right then and there. I imagined the gun firing, and everything blissfully going blank, not even feeling the bullet sink into my head, or my body falling limply to the ground.

He startled at my movement, and held the gun higher, his hand now shaking violently. “D-d-don’t come a-any closer! I-I’ll shoot!” His voice quivered even more than his hand. I wonder why? He was the one with the gun.

“I know.” I didn’t halt my forward march. It felt like I was floating across the ground. I couldn’t even feel the pain in my leg anymore. As I grew closer and closer, the barrel of the gun turned into a hazy black tunnel. If I just got close enough, maybe I could journey through that tunnel, and get away from here. I didn’t know where, but that didn’t worry me. Anywhere had to be better than here, right? I suddenly remembered how much I had craved the blood seeping into the ground earlier, and actually grinned at the foolishness of it. It seemed like such a time long ago when I had desired earthly things like that. I could hardly even remember why. Even more so than earthly things, I could remember desperately yearning for the non-earthly things. My family. The concept seemed so foreign to me now. What was the point of yearning when I could go to them right now? I could leave this disgusting world behind and go home to them. I could finally be free of this prison.

The thought was so alluring that when I heard the gun go off, I closed my eyes contentedly, awaiting the sweet bliss of death.

I almost sobbed when it never came. I opened my eyes, and found myself still standing in that god forsaken street.

“NOOOO!” I screamed at whoever had taken death away from me. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!”

The man who had been holding the gun was now on the ground, with a bullet in his head. Standing next to him was a tall, blonde man wearing a uniform.

I couldn’t see him very well through the tears obstructing my vision, but I could just make out the amusement in his eyes. The sick grin on his face. “Well,” a smooth, deep voice said. “What I’ve done is save your life. Was I wrong to?”

I don’t even remember walking over to the man, and wrapping my hand tightly around his neck, but that’s where I found myself when I seethed, “You had no right, you fucking bastard!”

“Commander!” Someone called, but he held up his hand.

“Do not fire,” he ordered calmly. “Lay down your arms.”

“NOOOO!” I screamed at him again, and tightened my grip. “YOU OWE ME, YOU FUCKING BASTARD! REVOKE THAT ORDER! REVOKE IT!”

My crazed yelling didn’t seem to have any effect on him. He raised an eyebrow, that eerie grin still on his face. “And why would I do that? I wouldn’t want to waste a perfectly good candidate for my army,” he reasoned. “More than perfectly good, in fact, judging from that incredible fight.” He assessed me up and down like one would do before buying a particularly expensive product to make sure they weren’t being scammed.

Finally, he said, “You’re weak. You’re starving. Your leg is broken. Yet, somehow, you managed to defeat fifteen vampires armed with nothing but a pineapple.” He shook his head in disbelief. “You’re a prodigy.”

I punched him in the face. “FUCK YOU!” I yelled, voice cracking from all the screaming I was doing. That didn’t stop me. “I’M NOT GOING TO JOIN YOU’RE LITTLE CULT, ASSHOLE!” I punched him again, hard, hoping his soldiers would disobey his orders and shoot me.

They didn’t. They grabbed my arms and wrenched them behind my back, forcing me to my knees. Blonde Asshole rubbed his jaw and walked over to me. When he was close enough, I spat at him, only to be kicked across the face by one of the soldiers.

“Stop that,” Blonde Asshole ordered sternly. He turned his attention to me, and I looked away, refusing to give him the satisfaction of having my attention. “Look at me,” he said softly, coaxing me like one would do to a wild animal. When I didn’t obey, one of the soldiers restraining my arms grabbed me roughly by the hair, and yanked my head up.

I hissed, and manically struggled to get free. After awhile, I realized it was no use. I was already weakened, and their grip on me only seemed to get tighter the more I struggled. I went limp in acquiescence of the situation. I was overpowered.

Blonde Asshole knelt down, so that he was at my eye level. “What’s your name?”

I stayed silent, glaring at him. Maybe if I just didn’t say anything, he would get bored eventually and leave me alone.

He laughed, a deep, hearty laugh. “Alright. Alright. Well…” He narrowed his eyes, deep in thought, and looked me up and down slowly, like that would somehow give him the answers he sought. He eventually looked me in the eye, and said curiously, “You’re quite perplexing, you know. You’re a vampire, living in  a human village, and yet you had to steal packaged blood from a gang. Seems like more work than it’s worth.”

“Fuck you,” I growled viciously, forgetting my vendetta not to speak.       

“Hmm, not very talkative are you?” he remarked. Then he shrugged his shoulders. “No matter. Will you at least tell me why you’re so hell bent on dying when you just finished fighting fifteen men? You won, you know. You could have easily taken that last guy with the gun. It’s not like he had you backed in a corner.”

I glowered at him. “You mean like now?”   

He laughed even more robustly than before. “I like you.” he admitted, and I spat at him again. He went on without even blinking an eye. “You’re just extraordinary. A little wild and untamed, but I can work with that.”

I had just stolen from the biggest, most deadly gang in town, been chased by said gang, fought with them, and then almost been killed by one of them. However, only after hearing his last words did I feel the first trickles of fear start to ripple through me.

“Why?” I begged desperately, my tough demeanor falling apart and leaving me feeling naked and broken. “What do you want from me?” My voice broke, and the tears in my eyes sprung free. I didn’t care at the display of weakness. I was far past the point of caring about such trivial things. I stared helplessly up at this new threat, hoping that he might take pity on me. Hoping that he would just see just how weak I really was, and realize how useless I would be to him. Hoping that he would end my suffering once and for all.  

He was still kneeling when he reached a sinewy, large hand out, and wiped away a tear on my cheek with a gossamer light touch. He didn’t remove his hand, and instead feathered it along my face, eventually grabbing my jaw and tilting my face up towards his. His eyes seemed inhuman as he gazed at me with a disconcerting apathy. He looked in my eyes, and I knew with absolute certainty that he saw _me_ in that moment.  He saw more than I had ever let anyone see. He saw my sorrow and anguish. He saw my bitterness. My saw my weakness. My fear. My disgust. The Hatred. The anger _. Pain._  

But above all, he saw what I desperately hungered for. He saw how much I needed everything to end.

He saw it all, and he grinned. “What I want? Why, I want you to belong to me.” He let go of me, and stood up. “Put him on a horse. We’re taking him back with us.”

The hope that I had allowed to flare up shattered with an almost audible crack, and left me feeling like an empty shell.

Perhaps I was.

               

~ Levi’s POV 15 Years later ~

 

“Erwin!” I yelled, throwing open the door to his office and storming over to his desk.

“Oh hello, Levi,” Erwin greeted with a saccharine grin on his face. “Why don’t you have seat, and we can talk abou--.”

“No, I will not have a fucking seat,” I seethed, barely restraining myself from lunging across the desk and strangling the pompous man with all my strength. Instead, I threw the object of my anger onto his desk. “What the actual fuck is this?”

Erwin looked at the pile of papers for a moment before replying simply. “It’s a mission briefing.”

“I know it’s a fucking mission briefing!” I roared, slamming my hand onto his desk, rattling all the contents on the surface. “Why are you sending me to some godforsaken human village when that werewolf is still out there?!” 

“Well, did you read it?” Erwin asked calmly, folding his hands and placing them carefully on his desk, perfectly poised.

“Oh, no,” I objected sharply, shaking my head. “I’m not talking about that bullshit excuse about handling some ‘werewolf sympathizers’. I mean Jesus Erwin,” I cursed furiously, slamming my hand down on his desk again. “Send some young, inexperienced recruits to do deal with those werewolf fuckers! Don’t fucking send one of your most skilled officers to do this shitty, dirty work.”

“Corporal, I’m sending you on this mission because I need someone I can trust to do this job well,” Erwin explained logically. “I know I can rely on you for that. I am not going to send some inexperienced recruits to deal with this matter.”

“Why the hell not?!”

“I told you. Because—“

“Erwin—“ I cut him off sharply. “I know that we have this mutual dislike thing going on, and—

“That’s not true, Levi.”

“No. Let me talk.” Erwin looked like he wanted to say something more, but he closed his mouth and gave me his rapt attention.

For some reason, that infuriated me even more. I had to press my hands painfully hard against his desk to prevent myself from swinging at him. “It was fine.” I started, voice low and dangerously on the verge of yelling again. “Whatever this thing we have. It was working. I hated you. You hated me. You sent me on missions to kill werewolves. I did. But this,” I motioned at the envelope with disgust. “I will not let you just waste my time with this useless shit.”

“It’s not a waste of time, Levi--”

“Yes, yes it _fucking is_!” I bent down until I was at eye level with him, so that there was no way he could miss the extent of my fury. “It is when the werewolf that killed Petra is still out there. I can’t be out checking up on the werewolf pep squad when there are actual, extremely dangerous werewolves out there!” I clenched my jaw, and declared, “I’m not going. I will go out and find that werewolf on my own if I have to, Erwin.”  I glowered down at him, waiting to see how he would react to this act of insubordination.

Erwin sat there calmly. After a few moments, he politely requested, “May I speak now?”

I scoffed, but waved a hand of affirmation.

He smiled amiably, and gestured an offering hand towards the chair. “Why don’t you sit down, Levi.”

“I’m fine standing.”

Erwin sighed. “Don’t be childish. Sit down, Corporal.”

He fucking played the chain of command card. Asshole.

I scowled, but nonetheless crossed the room and sunk into the chair, glaring daggers at him the entire time. Once seated, I crossed my legs and arms in the most defiant position I could take given the situation. “What,” I demanded flatly.

“I had been planning to discuss this with you in detail before you came storming into my office,” he started self-righteously, and I snorted. He shot me a warning look before continuing. “There are a few things I didn’t include in the paper copy of the mission briefing because I didn’t want to leave a paper trail.”

I inadvertently sat up a little straighter.

He chuckled. “Do I have your attention now?” I didn’t respond, but he didn’t seem to care, fastidiously tidying up the objects I had knocked over. “Officially, I’m sending you to Trost, a human village, because there have been reports of werewolf sympathizer activity. However.” The dramatic bastard paused. “The real reason I’m sending you to Trost is because I suspect a very deadly group of werewolf assassins is taking refuge there.”

“Hmmm,” I murmured noncommittally, tapping my fingers against the desk.

He grinned at my indifferent display, seeing right through it. He picked up the mission briefing I had unceremoniously thrown on his deck, and gestured for me to take it. When I didn’t make any indication of moving, he set it down lightly in front of me. “From what I’ve heard, this is no small group of werewolves. This is the vital artery we’ve been waiting for, Levi. We take out this group, and the werewolves are done.”

He stopped and gave me a knowing look. “But if I still don’t have you convinced, then let me tell you this.” Erwin leaned forward, a smug smirk painted across his face. “This assassin group is the most likely ally any stray werewolf would go looking for if, let’s say, his village was just destroyed by vampires and he didn’t know where else to go.” 

I straightened my cravat, and stood up, roughly grabbing the papers he had set in front of me. “Next time, tell me that before you send the little intern to my door with this useless shit in his hands.”

Erwin’s careful composure looked a bit ruffled. “Levi, I would appreciate it if you didn’t go tormenting my interns whenever you felt like it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah and I would appreciate it if you would respect me enough to appropriately inform me of sensitive missions like this.”

“I do respect you, Lev—“

I started to walk away, and called over my shoulder, “I’ll do it Erwin, but I’m not going to stay and listen to your bullshit.”

“Levi,” Erwin addressed sternly, and I paused. “There’s one more thing.”

“What?” I asked impatiently.

“You won’t just be taking you’re regular team this time.”

I whirled around. “What the hell are you talking about, Eyebrows?”

 He cocked his head. “Eyebrows? That’s a new one. I must say I like it better than—“

“Erwin. What. Did. You. Mean,” I annunciated severely, growing more livid with every word.

He looked up at me then, the picture of innocence, and casually said, “Oh, you will also be taking Julian with you. I hope that won’t be a problem.”

 

~Ymir’s POV~

 

“Hanji, what the fuck are you doing?”

The aforementioned scientist was currently mixing a bubbly, very toxic looking, green liquid in a beaker while I observed from a safe distance away.

“Very good question, my astute assistant!” Hanji shouted in a volume that should be illegal so early in the night.  “If my calculations are correct…” She paused holding up what appeared to be an old napkin covered in scribbles. “Then I suspect with 18% certainty that this will do what I think it will do!”

“Hanji, those are horrible odds,” I tried to explain, not very successfully judging by how she was now manically stirring the mystery liquid, eyes practically popping out of her head with excitement. I couldn’t tell if she was hoping it would work, or secretly hoping that it would fail just so she could make even more weird concoctions. I would place my bet on the latter.

“Oh, and if you ever use an alliteration in my presence again, I will leave,” I warned, leaning up against the counter only to put my hand in something sticky. I grimaced and wiped it on one of Hanji’s lab coats.

“Ah, but it’s so much fun, my young Ymir.” It took her a second to realize what she had said. She gasped and almost dropped the glass stir rod she was using to mix. “It was an accident, I swear!” She looked up at me with pleading, wide eyes, but was immediately distracted as the concoction started to bubble right over the edge of the beaker.

I sighed ruefully, realizing that this was going to be a very long day. “What is that stuff even supposed to do?” I muttered, my curiosity overshadowing my common sense to never ask Hanji questions regarding science, ever.

She quickly reminded me of my error, and began rambling at about thousand words a minute. “Oh, oh, oh! It’s really quite simple! You see, I synthetically formed a compound with a very high energy of formation which I will inject into the test subject. The way it works is during times of high stress, it will interact with the person’s blood in a certain way that will break the bonds, and release huge amounts of energy! Like an explosion!” When she said the last part, she tried to mimic what was supposed to happen by waving her hands up in the air and making “Boom!” and “Kaboom!” sounds.

I tuned out until she stopped jumping around like a maniac, and she returned to stirring her strange mixture. She finished her drawn out explanation with a nod. “Theoretically, it’s very simple. Very simple, indeed…”

_Thank god, she’s finally done…_

“However!” I groaned, but she didn’t seem to hear me. “Bless you! Anyway, it’s not actually that simple. It would be super easy to make a person into a living bomb. They would just explode and die. No biggie.” She shrugged her shoulders, spilling some of the liquid over the side of the beaker. “The catch is that we want to make this weapon work without the user dying.” She squinted, adjusting the glasses on her face.  “This isn’t going to be your everyday chemistry project.”

“Wait a minute. Why the hell don’t we want the user to die?” I asked incredulously. “It’s just a werewolf. We _want_ it to die.”

“Oh, you’re an inquisitive one aren’t you? Well, the ultimate goal is to get this serum up to snuff, so that eventually we can start injecting it into our soldiers.” Hanji started practically vibrating with joy, and I was starting to fear that she would spill all of the potion onto the floor. “Can you imagine if every vampire soldier had this kind of power? The werewolves wouldn’t stand a chance!”

It was hard not to get caught up in Hanji's excitement, especially with her gleeful laughter. However, after contemplating Hanji’s words for a moment, I came upon a hitch in her logic. I glanced at the scientist haphazardly pouring more chemicals into the concoction. To anyone else, Hanji would probably come across as a lunatic who didn’t know what the hell she was doing. However, despite the apparent carelessness of her actions, I knew better. Behind the clumsiness and eccentricity, there was brilliance. That’s how I knew there wasn’t any hitches in her logic. There was just something she wasn’t telling me.

“Hanji,” I began warily. 

“Yes, my dear assistant!”

“My name is Ymir,” I reminded her with an irritated growl. “Why do we even need a weapon like that?”

“To defeat the werewolves of course!”

“Yeah. I got that.” I replied sardonically. “But why not design a more high-powered gun? Or better armor? This just seems comparatively more difficult and unnecessary.”

Hanji’s eyes were glittering. “Oh, I’m so glad I chose you to be my assistant! You’re not just any old rusty hoe out of the tool shed, are you?” Did she just call me a rusty hoe?

I didn’t have time to comment because after glancing furtively over her shoulder, Hanji rushed up to me, and whispered conspiratorially into my ear, “You see, this weapon that we’re making? We can definitely use it to defeat the werewolves, but...”

She stopped short, as if unsure whether or not to tell me.

“Hanji, if I’m going to be helping with this project, you have to give me some information to work with. At the very least, you have to tell my why we’re doing this,” I told her firmly, leaving no room for arguments.

She nodded her head vigorously. “Yeah, yeah I agree. It’s just… kinda top secret, but whatever!” She looked suspiciously over her shoulder again, at the completely empty room behind her, before turning back to me. “As I was saying, we could use this formula to defeat werewolves, but it's not designed to kill just _any_ werewolf. Erwin specially ordered this weapon for the purpose of killing the werewolf that attacked Julian’s base.” She let that sink in for a moment. “As for the reason why we need this specific kind of weapon. It’s because…” She leaned in even closer to me, if that was possible. “Somehow, that werewolf must have gotten ahold of some vampire enhancer serum stolen from my lab 12 years ago, and injected it into himself. Or at least I’m assuming so, since there’s no way he could be that powerful otherwise.”

My eyes widened as I processed what she had just revealed to me. 

Hanji mirrored my grave expression. “We’re not just dealing with any normal werewolf here. This werewolf has incredible abilities that I don’t even know the full potential of yet. All I know is that ordinary weapons are going to have absolutely no effect on that thing which is why it’s so important that we finish this weapon soon. We have to finish it before it attacks us while we’re unprepared, and...” She trailed off, but I could guess what she had been about to say.

It all made so much sense now. Why that werewolf was able to take out so many vampires at once. Why Hanji all of a sudden asked me to help her with this secret werewolf annihilation project.

It also made this situation all that much more urgent. However, I was confident in Hanji’s abilities. She may be scatterbrained, but when it came to science, she was unsurpassed. Everything would be fine. I was sure of it.

I gestured to the beaker of serum on the counter. “You should probably get back to… Uh Hanji?”

“Yes?”

“Is that stuff supposed to be on fire?”

“OH, NO NO NO!!! STAY WITH ME, CRISPY MARVEL OF SCIENCE! I’LL SAVE YOU!!!”

Hanji proceeded to throw a bucket of water at the fire, and missed by a good three feet.

“IT DODGED, YMIR, DID YOU SEE THAT?!”

I sighed for the second time that day. Everything would be fine…probably.

 

***

 

Fortunately, Hanji managed to extinguish the fire before it burned down her entire lab with us in it, and made another, more fireproof, formula for testing.

Finally. It was time for the best part of this whole project.

“Alrighty, Ymir, are you ready to test this baby on our werewolf guest?!” Hanji squealed, pouring the liquid into a large syringe.

I didn’t respond, communicating my answer by striding out the door and down the hallway to where the werewolf was being kept.

“Wait for me, Ymir! Ymiiiiiiiiiir!!!”

As I neared the room where my enemy was being kept, I imagined the surprise and fear that Petra must have felt as her throat got ripped out by a werewolf. I burst into the cell, and I couldn’t tell if the white light flashing in front of my eyes was coming from the room or my blind rage. 

“Ready for some fun, mutt?” I taunted, smiling darkly down at the monster on the floor.

Instead of cowering like most people did when I deigned to intimidate them, the werewolf sat up boldly, with all the audacity one could have being chained to a wall, and returned my smile with a hostile one of her own. “Eh I would be, but you vampires wouldn’t know how to have fun even if it slapped you in the face.”

The bright lights in the room reflected off her blonde hair and pale skin, giving the illusion that she was covered in a luminous glow. It was a little distracting, and it took me a moment before I could respond with a biting, “I bet you would like that, wouldn’t you? Too bad you’re all chained up.” I walked forward until I was hovering just barely out of her reach, uncomfortably invading her space, but too far out of reach for her to do anything about it.   

She spat at me. “I wouldn’t, _actually,_ because I don’t enjoy seeing other people in pain.” Her gaze swept over me, and I could visibly see her pass some kind of judgement with a flicker of her eyes. “Even if those people are as evil as you.”

I laughed. “It’s so funny to watch a werewolf try to be intimidating. You’re like a little puppy.” My insult didn’t seem to affect her, a carefully impassive expression crossing her face.

I knew better though. I bent down in a predatory fashion, so that I was towering above her, and jeered. “Do you do tricks? Come on, rover, roll over.”

She yanked against her restraints, pulling the chains painfully taut, and hissed, “Yeah, I know a cool trick. I can rip a vampire’s skin off with my bare teeth. Want to see?” Her movement had brought her much closer than I expected, and our faces were inches apart. She didn’t move a muscle, staring me down like a lioness would before dealing the death blow to her prey. It was pretty ironic considering she was the prey in this situation. It was ridiculous actually. What power did she think she had?

She would soon realize exactly who was in control when Hanji and I began our experiments like we had set out to do. Before that though, I was determined to deter her will first, if not break it.

We both stubbornly stayed exactly where we were, neither one of us backing away. We were so close that I could see every angry line of her brow, the furious glint in her eye, and even the little wrinkle of her noise formed from the angry contortions of her face. However, even with all those clear indicators, it was still hard to believe that she was angry. No matter how much she tried to contort her face, she couldn’t change the soft shape of her pale blue eyes, or the natural upturn of her mouth. It was like she was made solely for the purpose of smiling and laughing.

I couldn’t let myself be fooled though. I imagined how she probably laughed while Petra bled out on the ground, and her soft blue eyes immediately morphed into something much more depraved.

“I would love to see that sometime,” I replied to her comment, not budging from my perch over her. “Too bad you’re tied down like the dog you are.”

“If I’m a dog,” she growled. “Doesn’t that make you a mosquito? A tiny, little fucking mosquito!” She saw my shocked expression, and it must have fueled some kind of primal fire within her because then she was shouting vehemently in my face, spit flying from her mouth.

“Yeah that’s right! Dogs like me eat little, bloodsucking mosquitos like you for breakfast! No we don’t even do that! We step on you, and – and crush your little, tiny, mosquito guts into smithereens! That’s all you are, Vampire! Bloody, little mosquito guts staining the floor! You’re so tiny that people can’t even see the blood stain you make, that’s -- that’s how tiny you are!”

When she was finally done, red faced and out of breath, her fierce eyes met mine, daring me to take my turn in what was becoming a battle of the wills.

At least it had been up to this point.

I think that even if an entire army of werewolves had attacked right then and there, threatening to kill me and everyone that I loved in the most brutal fashion possible, they still couldn’t have prevented me from doubling over and letting out loud, choking laughing sounds that rang throughout the room.

“Did…” I tried to get out, but couldn’t because my abdomen was still spasming. I tried again. “Did—Did you just call me a mosquito? A _fucking mosquito_?!”

“Yeah, I did, and I stand by that assessment.” She lifted herself back into a sitting position even though I didn’t remember her ever falling down. I probably banged her head in the process of bending over in my fit of hilarity.

“What kind of an insult even is that?” I asked breathlessly, still recovering from my laughing fit. “And assessment? What are you, 12?”

“I’m not the immature one here, if that’s what you’re asking,” the werewolf snarled. “And it’s a valid insult. Better than you’re stupid ‘dog’ thing. You must think you’re so original, but I’ve heard that, and much worse, from Shadis.”

“Who the fuck is Shadis?” I asked acridly, before remembering that I didn’t care. “No wait, don’t tell me. I really don’t care.”

 “Don’t you dare say his name!”

“I can do whatever the hell I want, you fucking mutt.”

“Oh wow, at least you stepped up you’re insults a bit. Now try thinking at a kindgarten level.”

“Oh, you would know, wouldn’t you?”

“FUCKING MOSQUITO!”

“Oh god, are you really going to start that again?”

“YOU BET I WILL!”

“You know you sound ridicul--”

“YMIR!!!!!!!!”

A familiar voice screamed shrilly in my ear, practically deafening me and making me falter midsentence.  

My ears didn’t even get a chance to recover before Hanji was screaming again. “YOU INTERACTED WITH THE TEST SUBJECT WITHOUT ME!!! I CAN’T BELIEVE I MISSED OUT ON SUCH VALUABLE DATA! WHAT WAS HER BODY LANGAUGE LIKE WHEN YOU SPOKE TO HER? DID SHE USE A LOT OF INFLAMMATORY LANGUAGE, OR WAS HER RESPONSE MOSTLY PHSYICAL? IF I COULD JUST GET A FEW DETAILS I COULD--”

The blaring noise finally stopped when I threw my hand roughly over Hanji’s mouth, although I could still feel her trying to talk through my tight grip.

“Hanji!” I barked. “Volume. Lower it.”

She nodded, but I hadn’t even fully removed my hand before she was speaking again, thankfully at a significantly lower volume this time. “Oh, sorry about that! I can get carried away sometimes!” Sometimes? She turned her attention away from me, and smiled brightly at the werewolf. “And how are you, my dear? Is life in captivity treating you well?” Hanji asked, genuine curiosity lighting up her face.

The werewolf seemed put off by the question, not sure if Hanji was being serious or not. She must not have cared either way because she responded with a curt, “Yeah, just lovely.”

“Interesting,” Hanji pondered for a moment. “Very interesting.”

I cleared my throat loudly. “We don’t really have time for small talk, Hanji. Shouldn’t we get on with things?”

“No, you won’t be ‘getting on with things’ until you tell me where the rest of my pack is!” the werewolf demanded with a commanding tone, and she tried to sit up taller like she was about to make us listen to her if it came to that.

I barked out in laughter. “You really don’t get it, do you?” I strode across the room in just a few steps, and knelt down, coming face to face with her. “We’re not bargaining here. You’re our prisoner. You live while we want you to.” Before the wolf’s slow reflexes could register the movement, I had whipped out a knife from my boot and pressed it to her neck, eliciting a shocked gasp.

“And.” I smiled. “You’ll die when we want you to.”

To my surprise, she leaned forward, causing the knife to cut into her neck ever so slightly, and allowing thick drops of blood to fall down her neck in red cascades. A thin haze came over me at the sight of blood, and I unconsciously licked my lips. “Do it then,” she dared, looking into my eyes fearlessly.

Her voice broke my trance. I let out an amused snort, and stood up, sheathing the knife. “No, you can’t die yet. We still need you.” I motioned to Hanji. “Do you have it?”

“Yup!” She replied, placing the syringe in my hand. “Make sure you administer it in her neck, and push the plunger all the way down.”

For the first time since I met this werewolf girl, her confident demeanor seemed to crack a bit. “What is that?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.” Without another word, I grabbed her by the neck and stabbed the syringe deep inside, causing more droplets of crimson to drip down her skin.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This updating once a week thing is exhausting... I guess I could just not write 7000 word chapters, but where's the fun in that??? ;)
> 
> Also, if you couldn't tell, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Like Levi beating up a gang with a pineapple is my aesthetic. xD Anyway, I've got another long chapter for you guys next time, so I better go work on that. But first...sleeeeeeep.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!!!


	19. Seriously, Fuck Irony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***TRIGGER WARNING***  
> Just the usual blood, gore, and violence that’s pretty much the norm here. 
> 
>  
> 
> *climbs out of the hole of laziness I fell into* 
> 
> You know when it’s time to stop editing? When you feel like your eyes will literally fall out of your head if you have to read your writing one more time. Except if you’re a perfectionist like me, then you just keep editing anyway. Who needs eyes anyway, am eye right? xD
> 
> Alright, here take this ~12,000 word beast. Please. I don’t want it. I’ve written and rewritten and rewritten this so many times I don’t even know what’s in character or out of character anymore. Also, I am very much regretting the decision to have Eren go by a fake name because the number of times I write Eren instead of Julian, or Julian instead of Eren is astronomical. 
> 
> Futhermore, a longer chapter = exponentially more grammar/spelling mistakes. Proceed with caution.  
> There's probably still a bunch of mistakes in this despite the amount of editing I did, so just blame it on the fact that I'm RIDICULOUSLY caffeine deprived because I’ve been cutting back on coffee. Why did I do that again? Oh right, health and such. If you catch a mistake, and it's bothering you, just let me know. 
> 
> Ok, my job here is done… *returns to the pit of darkness from whence I came*

 

~ Eren ~

 

I took in a breath, filling my lungs deep with oxygen. In that moment, with my eyes closed and my lungs full, I let myself relax. I focused on the refreshing scent of pine, the friendly twittering of birds, and the nearby sound of rushing water as the familiar sensations of the forest came together in a wonderful harmony. Then I slowly let my lungs deflate, feeling the rush of air pass through my lips like a whisper, and pretended that the gradual release of air represented all my worries being blown away.

At least, that’s what would have happened if I lived in a perfect world -- the same one where  vampires and werewolves hold hands, sing kumbayah, and skip together into the sunset.

When I heard that we would be travelling through a forest, my heart leapt with joy. The high from that must have made me somewhat delusional because I foolishly let myself believe that we were heading to a place similar to my homeland.

I should have known, considering my extensive track record with misfortune, that I would have no such luck. The reality was that as soon as I set foot into this forest, I wanted to turn the hell back around. The refreshing pine smell from imagination was laughable after I was confronted with the musty mold aroma of redwoods, the rank stench of horses, and the nauseating metallic scent of vampire. There also was no symphony of twittering birds and rushing rivers like I had hoped for. Instead, there was a suffocating silence, broken only by the crunch of hooves on dried leaves, and the heavy grunt of horses.

The worst part of this forest was the stifling darkness. I used to love to go on runs during the day with Mikasa and Armin just to see the sun shine brilliantly through the trees, and hear the forest come to life. If the forest had been alive then, it could only be described as dead now. The trees loomed over us as if wilted, branches blanketing us in complete darkness where not even the light of the stars could shine through. The farther we delved into the foreboding shadows of the forest, the more I itched to turn back. The only saving grace of the menacing blackness was the fact that it hid my discomfort from the prying eyes of the vampires.

The whole situation was made infinitely more uncomfortable considering I was on horseback. I tried to do relaxing breathing exercises like in my daydream, but I couldn’t find a rhythm of breathing that wasn’t either cut off with a particularly jarring step, or morphed into an indignant cry whenever I almost fell off, which happened more often than I would like to admit.

Before now, I never had any reason to learn how to ride a horse as I had always jumped at any opportunity to run in my wolf form. Even now, despite the precarity of this situation, I yearned to leap off my horribly discordant ride, to shift into my oh so familiar four-legged form, and to race in the opposite direction of where we were heading at the fastest possible speed my body could manage. Being confined to my human form felt like being deprived of a drug that my body had learned to expect, had learned to _need_.

Yet, here I was – two-legged, my senses dulled to only a fraction of their normal proficiency, and forced to rely on another beast to transport me. It was humiliating.

It was even more so as I heard a distinct huff of laughter come from my right. “Jesus newbie, calm the fuck down.” Eld laughed again, at least having the courtesy to muffle the sound slightly with his hand this time. I guess my unease hadn’t been as discreet as I had thought. _There goes the only saving grace I had managed to glean from this wretched situation. Figures._ He offered me an empathetic, albeit amused, sidelong glance, but empathy coming from a vampire pissed me off more than it calmed me down.

I meant to keep my spiteful thoughts to myself, but when I heard a bitter laugh resound in my ears, I realized that the sound had come from me. Thankfully, Eld didn’t seem too bothered by my rudeness. “This is just a routine scouting mission,” he reassured, tone deepening with sincerity. “We probably won’t even run into any werewolves. Even if we did, they would probably be too busy laughing at the tense rookie to do anything else.”

That pulled a few amused chuckles from the surrounding vampires who had been originally riding along in a content silence. I joined in on their bout amusement with a chuckle of my own, just long enough to play the part as one of them, and then quickly fell silent.

I had to confess to the accuracy of Eld’s allegation. I wasn’t a mess of clenched teeth, hunched shoulders, and rigid muscle solely from the sinister forest and my body’s craving to shift. My tension also stemmed from the fear of what this mission would entail – this _vampire_ mission with its _vampiric_ intentions.

I was given very little information regarding the nature of this mission, but my attire alluded to it somewhat. I was dressed in a baggy cloth tunic falling just past my hips and secured in place with a belt around my midriff. The pants were also loose fitting, the fabric sewn together with crisscrossing laces extending down the sides of each leg to my ankle where the end of the pant was tucked into sturdy leather boots. The material was rough and scratchy, and the coloring was simple, all monochromatic browns and blacks with the only hint of décor being the green bandana tied around my neck.  The rest of the crew were dressed in similar getups.

The clothes were foreign to me, but based on Levi’s quick briefing of the mission that consisted of only one sentence – “ _We are posing as human travelers passing through a human town”_ – the outfit must be typical of what a human would wear.

Despite the obvious effort to blend in, we were all armed, weapons concealed under our loose clothing. That was the main source of the uncomfortable twisting in my stomach. I could only anticipate what I would have to use it for.

 _“Trust me, I don’t want to drag your incompetent ass along either,”_ Levi had said in response to my heated protests after he had thrust this insane proposal at me. Before this whole mess had begun, I had been in my quarters, trying to fulfill my own personal mission trying to figure out which buildings Mikasa and Christa were being held in. Upon hearing the clipped rapping on my door, growing more aggressive by the second, I opened it expecting everything except the sight I was met with. I had assumed Levi would avoid the mere sight of me after our last less-than-friendly encounter. Imagine my surprise to find him at my doorstep just a little while later. The appearance of my enemy in tandem with the foul order that had hung off his lips was a garish reminder of how completely powerless I was in this place. I tried to refuse. When that didn’t work, I tried to dissuade him with reminders him of my horrific combat skills. After that though, I drew a blank. He had caught me completely off guard, and I hadn’t had time to come up with that many congruous reasons behind my refusal to go. I don’t think it would have mattered even if I did. I could have weaved together the most infallible story, and it still wouldn’t have stopped Levi’s look of pure vitriol, or his harsh words. “ _We don’t always get what we fucking want now, do we?”_

I didn’t realize my gaze had been subconsciously drawn to the subject of my thoughts until Levi turned his head, and I was suddenly assaulted with the full profile of his face. He had taken the lead of our small troupe, riding several yards in front of us. Eld and Gunther flanked either side of me, and Oluo took up the rear. This meant I was directly behind Levi, and when the covering of the trees started to thin, allowing the light of the stars to finally shine through, I had a clear view of his face as it rotated from side to side, scouting for potential threats.

The sight was even more jarring than the stagger of my horse after a misstep.  When face-to-face with Levi, the murderous glare in his eyes always seemed to sharpen all his other features into a menacing deluge of harsh lines, severe angles, and dark shadows. However, from my current vantage point, the murderous glint was obscured by his hair, and it had a surprising effect. All his features seemed much softer than before. Instead of harsh lines and jutting points, I was met with sloping curves and a kind of delicate fragility.

I was enthralled for several moments before remembering that physical appearance was not at all representative of a person’s character. I forced myself to look away -- to not be fooled by the misleading softness.

I swiveled my head only to be with Eld’s intrigued gaze. I realized with a flush that I had been caught red-handed staring at Levi. “Things have been kinda rocky with you and the Corporal, huh?” Eld asked with a questioning lift of an eyebrow. I quickly glanced up to see if Levi had heard Eld’s comment, but he continued his smooth forward march, no break in his routine to indicate that he was aware of being the topic of conversation. I turned back to Eld, and offered an indifferent shrug of my shoulders as a response. I could tell he was unimpressed, but before he could comment, Gunther jumped in with an enquiry of his own.

“Yeah, I’ve meaning to ask you the same thing, Julian. Did the Corporal tell you why he decided to bring you along?” Gunther paused, and deliberated a moment before saying, “I mean no offense, but this is an elite squad. We don’t even bring along skilled fighters like Ymir and Reiner, and based on what I saw at our last training… Well, let’s just say your skills leave a lot to be desired.”

That statement evoked an amused cackle from Oluo. “You got that ri--” He cut off midsentence, and I didn’t need to look behind me to know he had just bitten his tongue.

Normally, I would have been insulted, and my hotheaded rage would have led me to respond with a scathing reply. However, at that moment, I just had too much on my mind to care. I ended up replying with an uncharacteristically calm, “I’m just as confused as you are.” Something in my tone must have signaled the end of the conversation because no one spoke after that, and I was left alone to my thoughts.

I really was at a complete loss as to why I was here. At first, I had assumed it was an attempt on Levi’s part to punish me for our last verbal altercation. However, that quickly went out the window when Levi had admitted that he didn’t want me to go along on this mission either, clearly implying that someone higher up had ordered Levi to take me along with them.

_But why? What could I possibly offer that Ymir and Reiner couldn’t?_

No matter what the reasoning, I was hyper aware of the grim situation that I was in. My hand fell to the weapon holstered at my hip, and my fingertips brushed the surface of the cool metal. The sensation was a heavy reminder as to why I was carrying it in the first place. It would only take a few quick movements to raise the fatal instrument and pull the trigger. If we were to encounter werewolves on this mission, my position on the battlefield made the expectations of me abundantly clear. On this side, I was opposite of the people I had always fought alongside with. On this side, instead of running with the werewolves, I was running against them.

Just the thought of such betrayal made me almost gag with the onslaught of nausea that followed. Attack my own people was unthinkable. It wasn’t even up for debate. I would rather blow my cover before I commit such a heinous act.

 _Except, I couldn’t blow my cover either_ , my conflicted brain reminded me. It was quite possibly the only way I would ever get to see Mikasa and Christa again.

I settled on assuming that we wouldn’t run into werewolves at all. Eld had said that I wouldn’t have to worry about such an unlikely scenario, right? Everything would be fine, and it would probably all go as plann—Shit, I probably jinxed the whole thing just now, didn’t I? 

I reeled in my paranoid thoughts for the sake of my sanity. Overthinking wasn’t going to help me any in this situation.

As we reached the peak of a hill, a town became visible in the distance. A beat after I spotted it, a smooth, deep voice sounded from up ahead, slicing through the silence.

“When we arrive in town, don’t forget your role. We are humans, not vampires. Don’t talk to anybody, don’t act suspicious, and don’t do anything that could give us away.” Levi turned away without another word. No explanation. No additional advice. Not even a fucking purpose as to why we were here.

Despite the very limited information I was given, the facts still didn’t quite add up. Eld had mentioned that this was a “routine scouting mission,” but there was something in Levi’s voice, an eagerness, that indicated this expedition was anything but routine. I could tell he was looking forward to something, and whatever it was had him excited enough to betray the normally flat tone of his voice. I shuddered at the thought. That couldn’t mean anything good.

I sighed, and followed reluctantly behind my nemesis into what could either turn out to be a run-of-the-mill outing, or unadulterated mayhem. I guess I would know soon enough.

 

***

 

Despite my growing unease, we made good progress and soon arrived at our target destination -- the human village of Trost. Of course, I had developed my own preconceived notions about human settlements based on the stories and rumors I had heard back at my village; they were the kind of stories that sent a shiver down your spine, and provided enough horrifying material to write dissertation on why one should never visit a human village of their own accord _ever_.

With all these horror stories stored permanently away in my head, it gave my masochistic mind free reign to go positively rampant on all the worst-case scenarios I could encounter. I envisioned one scenario that went something along the lines of layer after layer of human corpses strewn across the ground in a carpet of flesh for as far as the eye could see; dilapidated houses heavily battered from weather and age, the rotten wood stained a burnt brown from repeated blood spatters drying on top of each other; an eerily silent atmosphere interrupted only by the occasional agony ridden scream that were abruptly cut off; and just the overall sense that death had laid claim to the land.

That was PG compared with some of the other grisly visuals my mind conjured up.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of choice in this matter, and I hesitantly approached the entrance to the village.  

What I didn’t expect were sturdy, towering gates, firmly bolted shut and free of blood stains, nor did I expect the armed sentries guarding those gates.

Did I mention they were _vampire_ sentries?

“State your name and reason for entering Trost,” a suspicious voice demanded, raising a hand to dictate that we come no closer. The voice came from a vampire who, based on his guarded stance and gruff reception of us, was well used to dealing with unwanted visitors.

Levi answered the man with what seemed to be a rehearsed cover story. “My name is Isayama Hajime. My companions and I wish to stay the night at an inn here before continuing our journey to Shiganshina.” After a beat of tense silence, Levi added, “I believe you should have received notice of our arrival.”

The guard turned to another nearby guard, and they whispered back and forth for a bit before the first guard nodded his head. Then he returned his attention to Levi, his demeanor much more relaxed than before. “My apologies for the confusion, Sir Isayama. We were indeed notified of your arrival. You may proceed.”

The guard motioned with his hand, and a loud grinding sound could be heard as the gates slowly swung open.

Once the gates were fully open, I was granted my first glimpse of a human village. 

My first impression was that the whole place looked incredibly strange. Everything about it was foreign and different from anything I had ever seen before. First of all, the town was a lot larger than I had expected it to be with an odd sort of organization to it. Unlike my village that had been a wide expanse of land interspersed with houses, this place was configured with a long, central stretch of dirt road with buildings aligned on either side in neat rows. Upon closer inspection, I could make out more stretches of road up ahead that intersected and created several different crossroads. It was like a maze: one wrong turn and you would be lost in a sea of identical buildings and winding roads. In the unfortunate event that I did get lost, it would be extremely difficult to navigate my way through the town with the tall houses obscuring my vision in all directions. The buildings were mountainous compared to the modest shacks I was used to, these ones possessing several levels and reaching far above my head. Right when I thought it couldn’t get any weirder, I realized they were not made out of wood like I was used to. The buildings were constructed with what looked like piles of brick pasted together. They were minimalistic, but not unattractive with their well-maintained facades and evenly spaced gaps between each one. Even though it was a dark night, the roads were well lit with the harsh, yellow glow of lamplight that cast somewhat spooky shadows with every passing figure. However, it was hard to be daunted when the people casting them were so contentedly going about their business.

Yes, _content._ The humans sailed leisurely about their business without a care in the world _._ There was no life-threatening chaos, or any sense of impending doom; there were no vampires slaughtering humans, or terrorizing them out of their wits; and there wasn’t a single dead body or drop of blood _anywhere_ to be seen. If anything, what I found was the exact opposite of what I had initially imagined. People strolled lethargically down the streets with an ease and lightheartedness that was unheard of during times of war. When they weren’t sauntering down the street without a care in the world, they were stopped on the side of the road immersed in conversation, their faces lit up animatedly as they grinned and laughed and chatted with each other. The most distressed people I could perceive was a frustrated patron trying to haggle with a shopkeeper, and a man fast walking down the street trying to keep up with a woman who strode with purpose. It was anticlimactically quite boring compared to the gruesome narrative I had spun in my head.

That is, it was anticlimactic until my line of sight narrowed in on a vampire. More specifically, a vampire who walked up to a group of humans, offered them a cordial smile, and then _joined in on their conversation._ This blood sucking demon just went and started chatting with its food like they weren’t predator and prey, but old friends. _Friends._ A human and a vampire were hanging out like _friends._

I knew my mouth was probably hanging wide open, and that my eyes were probably bulging out of my skull, but I really couldn’t bring myself to care at the moment.         

I heard Oluo guffaw behind me. “Kid, I can’t even see your face, and I can tell that you're practically shitting yourself right now."

That incited a few intrigued looks from the other vampires. “Is this your first time in a human town, Julian?” Gunther asked curiously.

 _Oh shit_. Going to human villages must be a normal vampire thing. “Y-yeah I guess,” I stammered, trying to think of a plausible reason that would explain why a vampire wouldn’t have ever been to a human town before. _Think think think think think._ “I… I don’t like to travel much in case… in case I run into werewolves!” I quickly cleared my throat to cover up for the fact that I had just shouted the last part in my panic.

“I can’t really blame ya for that,” Eld smiled as if nothing was amiss. _Whew._ “It must be a little shocking for you.”

“It is,” I admitted sheepishly. Then being the impulsive idiot I am, I decided to take a gamble to see if I could get some answers. “Actually, it’s kind of weird to see humans getting along so well with us,” I said slowly, gauging their reactions. When they didn’t respond immediately, I quickly added, “Sorry, I mean I know we get along, I’m just surprised they’re not even a little scared of us.”

They all laughed. “Well, why would they be?” Eld asked. “We have no reason to hurt them, and they have no reason to be scared of us.”

 _Um I beg to differ,_ I thought sarcastically. Out loud, I said, “You’re right, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“It’s ok, I was surprised the first time I came to a human town too,” Eld ruminated nostalgically. “After all, humans did used to fear us long ago. Of course, that’s an archaic way of thinking now.”

“Archaic is right. The humans should be overjoyed to see us now.” Gunther asserted. “I mean without our protection, who knows what would have become of their towns. Remember what it was like before we offered our protection? Humans were constantly raiding other human towns, and when it wasn’t humans, it was werewolves. Even rogue vampires were known to ransack a human town or two. Ugh, it was just a mess.”

Eld murmured a sound of agreement. “And this way, the humans are more than willing to donate their blood to feed the vampire soldiers working so hard to protect them. It’s an incredibly efficient symbiotic relationship.”

My brow furrowed, and my hands tightened on the reigns of my horse as I processed their words. _A symbiotic relationship? Hah!_ I glanced over at the morbid vampire talking to the group of humans. I almost gagged when I saw them hug, and then part ways. Little did those humans know that they were being manipulated by the vampires. How on earth could they fall for such a ridiculous scam? The vampires get to live in the human towns, and oh yeah the humans also have to sacrifice their bodies and feed the vampires as well.  It was just a glorified deal constructed by the vampires so that they could get free room and board. Gunther even went as far to spout on about some protection bullshit. It was like he was trying to justify this depraved situation to cast the vampires in a selfless, charitable light. It was completely ludicrous.

A quick glimpse at Levi validated all my thoughts on the matter. Levi and all the rest of the vampires would spontaneously combust before they selflessly went out of their way to protect someone else out of the goodness of their heart. Helping humans was inherently against everything the vampires stood for.

My rancor was temporarily placed on hold when Levi abruptly stopped in front of a building with a sign hanging above a set of double doors. Painted on the sign with large, neat lettering were the words “Rico’s Inn.” As soon as Levi dismounted his horse, everyone else was quick to follow suit, including me; I was curious to see what the inside of one of these human establishments was like, and the clatter and flurry of voices coming from inside piqued my interest even more.

After tying up our horses at the stables, our group silently entered the tavern.

For the second time that day, I was shocked into silence.

The liveliness in the room rivaled that of my village during a feast. After spending the past few days surrounded by lifeless vampires, this was a wonderful change of pace, and I couldn’t suppress the wide grin that plastered itself across my face. Everyone here was so _alive_. There were people everywhere sitting at tables scattered generously throughout the room. Most tables strained to fit all of the people attempting to squeeze in around them. It was like each table was accommodating an entire family as well as their friends and distant relatives. As I gawked at the room in front of me, I noticed a common theme; everyone was laughing, smiling, and shouting at each other to be heard above the clamor of voices, not one person failing to partake in the festivity. It was a sea of expressive faces, flushed cheeks, and excited energy.

The furnishing of the room matched the spirited mood to a tee. Lamps on the wall lit up the room so that it was positively glowing, illuminating everyone and everything in the room with a warm orange gleam. Everything was so _warm_. It’s like the ice that had built up with me from being constantly surrounded by vampires melted just a little at the comforting sight. Not to mention there was some heavenly smell permeating the entire room with its mouthwatering aroma. Was that chicken?

Our arrival attracted the gaze of a few nearby onlookers, but after a moment of sizing us up, they turned back to their lively conversations, not interested in the dull group of strangers that clearly must have taken a wrong turn somewhere; we probably would have fit in better with a funeral procession than here in the epitome of liveliness.

At least, they had ignored us at first. The rest of the vampires walked in, and had very little reaction to the goings on around us. However, my head whiplashing back and forth to take in the scene had managed to attract a bit more attention than our initial entrance had. 

I tried to reign in my intrigue, but I knew it was too late when a woman in the back who had been serving drinks heard some of the curious whispers, and glanced up, instantly zeroing in on our group. For how big the room was, she was able to weave her way through the crowd with astonishing agility, and came to a stop in front of us in what was probably a record amount of time.

That wasn’t the only record set that night. I had just done the exact opposite of what Levi had ordered us to, and caused a commotion in mere moments of arriving at our destination. _Way to go, Eren._ I glanced sheepishly at the rest of our group to take in their reaction, and immediately regretted it. Levi was staring me down with a murderous look that said if we weren’t in public, he would be throttling my neck right about now.

I winced, but was saved from Levi’s chilling vibes when the woman spoke. “You must be travelers as I can’t say I’ve ever seen you in my inn before. What business do you have here?”  I was saved from the lion’s den, only to be pushed into another one. This woman, I assume was Rico, could give Levi a run for his money as far as intimidating demeanors went. Her hair was a startlingly pale blonde, almost white, and the short cut fell just below her chin, framing her jaw. She didn’t have the naturally cruel face that someone like Levi had, hers being more rounded and gently curved, and if it wasn’t for her eyes, she might have been somewhat approachable in a motherly sort of way. However, her flinty gaze, not even slightly obscured by the thin wired glasses resting on her face, took away any chance of approachability, and I shrunk under the weight of it. 

Her eyes flicked between each member of the group before landing on Levi, expression expectant. She was evidently intuitive enough to discern the leader of the group. “Your assumption is correct,” Levi addressed Rico impassively, no longer retaining any trace of his rage that had assaulted me only moments ago. I was only a little bitter about that. “We are merely passing through, and wish to remain here while our horses rest.”

Rico did not appear satisfied with his response. “Really? Where are you heading?”

Levi bristled at her question. “Not that it’s any of your business, but we’re on our way to Shiganshina. We had a weak harvest this year, and we need to collect some provisions to keep us on our feet.”

She hummed. “Yes, Shiganshina is known for its excellent crop output. Where are you from?”

“Stohess.”

“Which part?”

“The east end near the Sina border.”

“Which crops are you short on?”

“Mostly wheat, but the corn crop didn’t fare well either.”

Rico paused, breaking up their quickfire banter. An unreadable expression crossed her face, but then she imparted us with a small smile, and my worries were quickly dispelled.

“Sorry for the third degree,” she apologized sincerely, visibly relaxing. “You can never be too careful these days.”

Levi did not return her smile, but he also seemed to relax a bit as the tension dissipated. “I agree. I would have done the same in your place.”

Her grin widened. “Glad to hear it. Here let me show you to a table.” She motioned for us to follow her. “Can I get you started with anything to drink? We have a specialty beer that’s quite popular with most—“

Rico was in the middle of casually leading us to a table when she glanced in my direction and froze, her eyes boring into mine in an expression that could only be described as perplexed. Levi, and the others followed her line of sight until everyone was gawking at me trying to determine the cause of her reaction.

I stiffened under their combined staring, especially Levi’s. He was shooting me a stony glare that said, “fix whatever the hell you just fucked up.” _Gladly. If only I knew what that was._

I figured it must have something to do with the fact that I wasn’t properly acquainted with the culture. Then again, I don’t know what I possibly could have done to warrant such a reaction when all I did was follow her to a table, which the vampires had also been doing and that she had expressly asked us to do. 

Even so, apologizing couldn’t hurt. “I’m sorry, did I offend you in some way?”

She startled at my voice. “…No, I don’t think so.” She offered no further explanation, eyes trailing up and down my body like I was some foreign specimen.

Levi’s eyes narrowed, obviously not pleased with my attempt to rectify the situation. I responded with a defensive glare of my own, aggravated that I was being nonverbally reprimanded when I literally didn’t do anything. Unless… No, there’s no way she could possibly know that I was a werewolf. Not even Levi had seen through my disguise, and he was probably just as intuitive as her, if not more.

“Well that’s good…I guess…” I was starting to feel self-conscious beneath her exhaustive scrutiny, and I averted my eyes, awkwardly combing a hand through my hair and hoping that she would eventually go about her business.

She didn’t. When I looked back at her, she was still intently staring at me.

“Um… why are you staring at me, exactly?” I asked bluntly, and I could just see Levi internally face palm at my lack of social finesse.

At least my bluntness finally seemed to snap her out of whatever trance she had just been in. Rico gave me one last lingering once over, and then seemed to go back to normal, returning to the task of leading us to our table.

The second she was out of sight, Levi roughly grabbed me by the arm and yanked me down, so he could hiss into my ear. “What the fuck did you do?”

I recoiled as if slapped. “What?! I didn’t do anything! I was just walking!”

He bristled at my tone, unconvinced. “ _Really?_   So it’s a _normal_ occurrence for people to look at you, and have their jaws drop to the floor in shock?” He scoffed, hand still tightly clasped around my arm with bruising strength. “You may be attractive, brat, but don’t get ahead of yourself.”

“Hey, you kno—“ I started to retaliate, but then my brain short circuited when I processed what Levi had just said. Wait… _what_?! He thought—Levi thinks that I’m… WHAT?! I mean objectively speaking I thought he was attractive too, but normal people don’t just _say_ those kind of things out loud, or quite so… _casually._

I was still gaping, but Levi didn’t seem to notice the groundbreaking crisis I was having. “I mean what could you have _possibly_ done to fuck up so badly?” Levi asked incredulously, slowly eyeing me up and down in bewilderment before rolling his eyes. “I swear I take my eyes off of you for _two goddamn seconds_ , and that’s all the time you need to make a complete idiot of yourself,” he said tossing my arm away like it had offended him.

A flash of anger snapped me out of my catatonic state. Gunther must have sensed the danger in my expression because he tried to step in between me and Levi. “Julian, let’s just try to calm down.”

I was having none of that, and sidestepped around him. “Ok now wait a minute, that’s absolutely ridiculous! I was right behind you the whole time, so you know I didn’t say anything to set her off. I mean what, do you think I was shooting her vulgar hand signals or something while your back was turned? Should I be flattered that you think I’m talented enough to create so much chaos without even saying anything,” I defended caustically, my tone replete with fury and sarcasm. “OR, here’s an idea? Maybe _you’re_ the crazy one here,” I accused lowly, taking a step forward so that I towered over him.

Levi did _not_ like that. He seized the collar of my shirt, and wrenched me down to eye level, sending waves of pain down my back at the uncomfortable angle. I tried to struggle out of his hold, but as usual, I was like putty in his merciless hands. “I don’t know, _brat_ , you tell me. You always manage to astound me with the sheer levels of stupidity you can reach,” He seethed. “Let’s take yesterday for example? Someone actually tries to go out of their way to help you, and what do you do? You accuse them of trying to _hurt_ you -- to _kill_ you.” He shook is head in disbelief. “Believe me, _I’m_ not the insane one here.”

“Oh, that’s rich,” I laughed bitterly, still awkwardly hunched over. “Yeah, you’re right. Why on earth would I assume something like that? It’s not like they’ve tried to hurt me every single time we've crossed paths. I’m so sorry, you’re right. I must be the crazy one here.”

Levi’s eyes widened for a moment in what might have been regret, but I couldn’t be sure because then his eyes broke away from mine, focusing on the ground. “That doesn’t invalidate the help that they gave you,” he muttered softly.

My gaze hardened. “Neither does it invalidate the wrongs they’ve committed,” I choked out, and my breath caught raggedly in the back of my throat because now I was referencing things that I didn’t want to – _couldn’t_ – think about right now. I didn’t get to see his reaction because then he was letting me go, and I was too busy throwing myself backwards, trying to create as much distance between us as possible. I felt something wet flow down my cheeks, and I hurriedly turned my head, trying to nondescriptly wipe away the tears that had spilled over. At the same time, I also rushed to bury the onslaught of cumbersome pain and stow it back into the furthest recesses of my mind where I had hidden it: dormant pain that had been awakened with a brutal vengeance.

“Sir,” Eld addressed Levi, tone urgent. He had obviously been holding in his concern until our confrontation had died down, probably not wanting to take on the brunt of Levi’s wrath _. Wow thanks for the help_.  He stepped towards Levi, arms held out entreatingly. “No matter what happened, or why Rico acted that way, it still isn’t safe to stay here. We have to leave as soon as possible.”

 Levi looked like he wanted to protest, and he glanced longingly at the room around him as if searching for something. He must not have found what he was looking for because he let out a frustrated growl of defeat, and started to turn towards the exit.

“Mission failed. We’re retreat--” He had begun to say, before stopping midsentence, eyes fixed on something just below my chin.

“Oh my g--Would you people stop staring at me like that?!” I snapped.

“What’s that?” He asked sharply, pointing at my chest and completely ignoring my comment.

“What’s what?” I looked down and couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary except…

 _Oh_. Except my dad’s key that dangled around my neck. “It’s nothing,” I mumbled, trying to deflect attention away from my most precious possession. “It’s just a stupid trinket. It’s nothing special,” I said in conjunction with wrapping my hand protectively around it.

Levi raised a dubious eyebrow, and his eyes bored into mine. I had to look away immediately, not able to hold his gaze after telling such a blatant lie.

“Really? Is that why you’re holding it like it’s the most precious thing you own?” Damn Levi and his keen perception.

“I-I-uh,” I stammered. “I don’t know what you’re talking abou--”

I was cut off by the sound of a terrified scream.

“Fucking hell,” Oluo cursed, and I followed his line of sight to the entrance just in time to see a horde of people flood into the room.

They were all armed, and at the front of the small army was Rico. She had a gun brandished in each hand, and both were aimed at her target. 

I didn’t even need to look to know who that unlucky person was.              

“Bring the boy to me alive. You can kill the rest.”

 

*** 

 

Chaos. Unmitigated chaos.

I could tell from my surroundings that people were shouting at one another and screaming in terror, but all I could hear was the loud, unceasing boom of gunshots as a shower of bullets rained throughout the room.

Something thudded against my chest, and I panicked thinking that I had been shot. I looked down, and it took my fuzzy mind a few seconds to process the lack of blood and bullet holes. _Oh_. It was my heart that was the perpetrator of the thudding.

I looked up, and I was suddenly transported back in time. I was in a forest, and there was a maelstrom of bullets firing at me, piercing my skin over and over and _over_. That time I actually had been shot. There actually had been blood. There had been _so much blood_.

The trees disappeared and were replaced with a frenzy of people running in all different directions. Was this the past or the present? I couldn’t tell anymore.

I added the pounding of blood in my ears to the list of things I could hear.

 _Move! Do something!_ My survival instinct demanded.

 _But where do I go? What do I do?_ My fickle brain countered.

The room started moving before I did, and I registered a familiar head of black hair before I felt the hand that wrapped around my wrist, pulling me away from the gunfire with a jerk. Then I was climbing up stairs. When did the stairs get there?

Levi shoved me into a room, and I was so grateful when the sound of shooting dulled down significantly.

“—ay here ok? Did you hear me, Julian? Stay here. I’ll come get you after I deal with the shitstorm downstairs.”

I concluded that I could hear again. I wasn’t sure if I could talk yet, though. I think I heard myself say ok, but I wasn’t sure—Wait, yes I did because that would explain why Levi nodded in affirmation and sprinted out the door.

Now I was alone in the room. Fuck, I needed to calm down. I needed to breathe. How do I breathe again? Oh, that’s right. Breathe in and breathe out. No, not that fast. Slower. Ok, better.

I sagged against the wall and let my thundering heart rate and erratic breathing ease up a bit. It helped immensely with my ability to think, and I began to regain my bearings. Looking around, I realized I was in a dark room, and I could make out the distinct shape of a bed, what was probably a dresser, and a window hidden behind partially drawn dark curtains, allowing a sliver of moonlight to sweep across the room. Logic informed me that this was probably one of the inn’s guest rooms.

Should I just wait here? That’s what Levi told me to do, but if Rico and her cronies found me in here, I would be cornered. After I thought about it for a moment, the prospect of being caught didn’t actually seem all that unpleasant. It couldn’t be worse than being stuck in a vampire fortress, right? I shook my head in shame at the selfish thought. I couldn’t just give up on Mikasa and Christa because I was uncomfortable in my current situation.

Even so, I was extremely curious as to why Rico wanted me in the first place. I couldn’t begin to fathom why she would go to such lengths just to get to _me_. Me, the guy who had literally nothing. I didn’t have any sought-after knowledge, a single noteworthy skill, or even any possessions to my name besides the clothes on my back. I mean I didn’t even have a home or a family to go back to for crying out loud. I couldn’t think of a single useful thing that I could offer her, especially not to someone with the kind of power where she could summon an entire army in a matter of minutes.

I heard a creaking of rusty hinges as the door to my room opened. That must be Levi. 

I stood up expecting to see the familiar face of a vampire, but froze at the sound of a deep, very unfamiliar voice.

“Don’t move.”

 _Oh shit._ _Shit_. _Shit shit shit shit shit—_

Before I could even think of taking action, the man had a forearm across my chest and had already pushed me up against the wall. I tried to break free of his hold, but his arm was an immovable weight across my body. Even so, I continued to struggle as I surveyed this new threat.

I utilized the strip of moonlight creeping in to make out a tall figure with a slim build, a thin, solemn face, and wild, dirty blonde hair with bangs that fell like a leaf across his forehead, tapering to a point in the space between pale, gray eyes. Those eyes were narrowed and focused, observing me with an impassive shrewdness.

He was very disconcerting, and I began to claw even harder at his arm.

“Calm down,” he said, completely unfazed by my rather feeble scratch-him-until-he-lets-go tactic. Although, his stoic expression did soften slightly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”            

I snorted. “Yeah, that must be why you shoved me against a wall.” I was pleasantly surprised that I could be so sarcastic in such a daunting situation. Yup, that was me – a slick casanova with absolutely no previous accounts of foot in mouth syndrome whatsoever.

“I had to make sure you wouldn’t run away,” he explained, letting up on his hold of me somewhat. I watched him warily, wondering if I should take the opportunity to bolt.

“Before you go sprinting off,” he said with a small smirk, knowing full well that he had just read my mind. “You should consider what you would be going back to.” There seemed to be genuine concern in his voice -- just enough to bring my escape plan to a halt. “I know you don’t know me, and that you certainly don’t trust me, but I’m sure you can trust that vampires are despicable. Believe me, coming with me is a much better alternative to being their captive.”

“I’m n—“ I started, but quickly cut myself off. It could be dangerous to tell him that I was with the vampires of my own volition. He could kill me before I had a chance to explain myself.

Instead, I asked a safer question. “Why are you helping me?”

He chuckled. “Well, I’m always willing to help a fellow werewolf.”

My breath caught in my throat. “You—wait, but I—how is that…really?” I finished smoothly. _Real slick, casanova._

How did I not realize he was a werewolf too? He must have learned to hide his wolf scent like I had before coming to the vampire base. He seemed amused by my reaction, casting me a small smile that lightened the severity of his face. “Sorry man, I thought you knew. I probably scared the shit out of you.”

“I was just a little startled is all,” I muttered defensively, pride not allowing me to say that yes, he had indeed scared the shit out of me.

“You’re not the only one. I have to say, I’m a bit surprised myself.” He let go of me and gestured to my dad’s key. “How involved are you in viper?”

“Viper? Like the snake?” I asked dubiously, wondering if I had heard him right. “What do snakes have to do with my key?”

“Hmmm interesting…” he murmured, just as perplexed as Rico had been earlier. “I’m not talking about the snake. It’s an organization. The name of it is an acronym, V.I.P.E.R.” His brow furrowed. “If you’ve never heard of it, how did you come to possess that key?”

“My dad gave it to me,” I answered after only a moment of hesitation. It couldn’t hurt to tell him that much.

His face lit up with curiosity. “Who is your dad?”

I winced at the use of present tense. “He’s dead. His name was Grisha Jaeger.” The name felt foreign on my tongue. Saying his name after years of painstakingly avoiding any mention of him made my heart pang with grief. It felt like accidentally reopening an old wound after forgetting you even had it in the first place.

Even stranger was the man’s reaction to the name. He sucked in a sharp breath, eyes widening in shock as realization dawned his features.

“You’re Eren Jaeger,” he breathed, staring at me with a newfound reverence.

“H-how do you know my name?” I sputtered. “How was my dad involved in this whole snake V.I.P.E.R. thing?”

“Eren, your dad kept a lot of secret from you.” His mouth tightened into a firm line. “Please come with me. I’ll explain everything later, but we have to get out of here before it’s too late.”

My mind was still reeling. How could my dad be involved in this? I think I would know if he was cohorts with some weird organization… Yet, I couldn’t deny the fact that this guy somehow knew my name.

It was too much. I couldn’t deal with the past when I had enough to focus on at the present.

“I can’t come with you,” I confessed. “Listen, the vampires aren’t holding me prisoner. I’m pretending to be one of them so I can save my sister and my friend who are being held captive by them. They’re imprisoned in this huge fortress, and it’s so heavily guarded that the only plan I can think where there’s even a small chance of us getting out of there alive is if I can somehow sneak them out of there.” I decided to confide in him after all. It seemed like there was a very low chance he would kill me considering he was looking at me like I was some kind of idol.

He gaped at me. “You’re _what_? That’s a suicide mission, Eren! There’s now way you can--”

“There is,” I shot back, my fists shaking with how tight I was clenching them. “There _is_ a way, and it’s been working so far. _I know_ there’s going to be a lot of obstacles, and _I know_ it’s not going to be easy, but I have to keep trying _. I have to._ I’m going to fight anything and anyone that get’s in my way, and if that includes you, then I’ll just have to fight you as well.”

He sighed in exasperation, but there was also a glisten of approval in his eyes.  “You couldn’t take me. You’re way too scrawny,” he chuckled, but the sound was void of amusement. “Look, I’m not going to try and stop you if that’s really what you want… even though it’s a fool’s errand.” I bristled, and he raised his hands placatingly. “Just-At the very least, will you let us help you?”

 _Us?_ “How can you help me?”

He smiled pridefully. “V.I.P.E.R is a lucrative organization. We have spies in most major vampire bases. If they’re being held in a huge fortress like you say, I guarantee we have people undercover there. They’re experts at playing the role of a vampire, and staying under the radar… Probably because they’ve never tried to _jailbreak_ anyone before,” he said, giving me a pointed look to which I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, having someone on the inside that you can trust would be invaluable to you and your chances of successfully rescuing your comrades.”

He wasn’t wrong there. I could use all the help all I could get. “How do I get in contact with them?”

He smiled, shooting me a knowing look. “Believe me, they’ll get in contact with you before long. I can guarantee that they are already well aware of your presence, and they are going to want to question you to learn what your motives are. A werewolf going undercover in a vampire base is unheard of outside of V.I.P.E.R.” His answer to my question didn’t quell my curiosity in the slightest. _Someone is aware that I'm a werewolf? There was another undercover werewolf besides me, and I hadn’t noticed them yet? Had I met them? How will they contact me?_

I had so many more unanswered questions, but I knew that we were on a time constraint. It wouldn’t be long before Levi returned, and I couldn’t be seen chatting with a werewolf when that happened. “Thank you, uh--” I flushed with the realization that he knew my name, but I didn’t know his. “Um, sorry I don’t know your name.”

“Call me Farlan,” he said with a grin. Then he crossed his right arm over his chest, placing his fist in the space above his heart, and folded his left arm behind his back. It was on odd gesture, but I could tell from the careful way he held himself that it was an immense sign of respect. I sheepishly tried to mimic the stance, and his grin widened. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Eren Jaeger.”

“Oh, uh thanks. You too.” I sure was a paradigm of charm.           

He dropped the salute, and turned towards the window, friendly conduct transforming into one of business. “Now, we need to focus on getting out of here. It’s only the second story, so we should be able to jump out the window, and then from there I can help you find your way back to the vampire’s base.”

“Uh, what are you talking about?” I asked, taking a step away from him and gesturing towards the door. “The vampires that I travelled with are downstairs. I’m going back with them."

He didn’t respond immediately. “It would be better if we went out that way,” he finally said, voice firm. “Those vampires are probably dead by now anyway. When you get back to the vampire base, you can just explain how you were attacked, and that your team was killed in combat.”     

He obviously had never met Levi. There was a reason I mistook Farlan for Levi when he first entered the room. I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if Levi had managed to decimate the army downstairs in mere minutes. I had firsthand experience, after all. He killed my entire village in the time it took for me to go on a run.

He wasn’t allowed to die either. Not yet. Not until I confronted him about his sins, and ended his life with my own hand.

_Because I was going to be the one to kill Levi._

I didn’t say that though. Farlan seemed to be the kind of person who understood practicality, not passionate revenge plots. “No that won’t work. I need them to be with me when I return,” I declared. “I don’t know where Mikasa and Christa are being held, and I think they’ll tell me eventually if I just keep gaining their trust. If they die now, I would probably be reassigned to a new squad, and then I would be back at square one.” Not to mention, I’ll have to explain why yet another one of my squads ended up dead with me being the sole survivor. I’m probably already on Commander Erwin’s radar, and I couldn’t afford any more incidents that could implicate my identity.

His face darkened. “I’m sorry, Eren. There’s no way they survived.”

“No, you don’t understand. They’re incredible fighters,” I stressed, an odd feeling pooling in my stomach at the fact that I was praising vampires. I pushed the feeling away. It was an objective observation. Nothing more. “A single vampire can take out numerous werewolves on their own, and that’s just an average vampire who knows the basics of shooting a gun. These vampires are professional fighters, trained for the sole purpose of killing werewolves. There’s no way they’re dead.”

Farlan seemed to become somewhat agitated, and he fidgeted in place, eyes looking everywhere but at me. It seemed a little uncharacteristic coming from a person who had been nothing but cool and collected this entire time. It had me narrowing my eyes suspiciously.

“You don’t understand.” He started slowly, noticeably uneasy. “The fighters you saw…  They were just there to hold the vampires off until the real weapons arrived.”

“What kind of weapons?” I prodded suspiciously. I took a few steps towards him, forcing him to confront me. He was being purposefully vague, and I wanted to know why.

He sighed, and finally met my gaze, an emotion lingering on his features that I couldn’t quite decipher. Unless… Was that guilt?

“The kind you don’t survive,” he divulged gravely. “Please don’t go down there, Eren. You don’t—It’s not something you want to see.”

Dread fill my gut. With the way he was acting, it seemed like these weapons were even worse than vampires which was a concept I couldn’t even begin to wrap my mind around. What could possibly be worse than vampires?

As if to answer my question, a vicious roar ripped through air, so loud that it rattled my eardrums despite coming from the floor below, and my blood went cold at the sound. Petrifying could hardly even begin to describe the unearthly, snarling noises that made my throat go dry, and sent an involuntary shiver racing down my spine, causing the muscles in my neck and back to clamp up painfully.

When the growling morphed into shrill cackling, I spun into action, advancing on Farlan’s stock-still form. “ _What are those things_?” I hissed.

Farlan blanched, unbridled terror paling his face. “It’s too late, Eren. We have to get out of here now.”

“I already told you I can’t.” I took in an unsteady breath. Every bone in my body was screaming for me to run away, and to get as far away as possible from whatever monsters were lurking downstairs. I knew I couldn’t do that, though. I had a mission to complete, and I _needed_ those vampires if I hoped to have even a remote chance of saving Mikasa and Christa.

I closed my eyes, suppressing every primal urge and survival instinct that told me I wouldn’t survive if I walked out the door.

I walked out the door.

“Eren! Eren, please stop! This is insanity!” I heard frantic footsteps follow behind me, and quickened my own.

“EREN!”

I easily found the stairwell from earlier, and descended the short distance in a matter of seconds.

“JULIAN!” I stopped short at the sound of my fake name being shouted from across the room.

The army from earlier was nowhere in sight. Instead, they had been replaced with creatures that were the physical embodiment of the horrifying sounds I had heard earlier. I froze where I stood, gawking at the things for another few moments before a chilling truth became grotesquely apparent. I felt my jaw go slack as I recognized the vaguely familiar forms.  

I was suddenly felt very lightheaded, and I hoped –prayed—that the dizziness was tricking my eyes, and distorting reality. That was the only explanation. I blinked rapidly, refusing to believe what I was seeing. I squeezed my eyes shut once more, and when I opened them again my heart dropped.

The nightmares were still standing there.

I hated myself for the cop out – for avoiding to give the creatures a name I knew very well, but couldn’t even think, let alone say out loud. I had to stop skirting reality. I had to face this, or I would be forever stuck standing in that stairwell, trapped in the unending horror of that moment until my heart gave out.

Death by shell shock. What a dreadfully ironic way to go. It was kind of beautiful actually. Eren Jaeger: survivor of not one, but two vampire attacks that left his village ravaged, and his friends and family dead; survivor of bombardment by countless silver bullets, an injury that by all means should have been fatal; survivor of entry into the jaws of death themselves—a vampire base; and let’s not forget survivor of the most abhorrent vampire on the face of the planet who had tried to kill him more than once by now – Corporal Levi. Oh, the cruel, beautiful irony.

I wasn’t going to die today, though, much to my dismay. I couldn’t have a beautiful death – people like me didn’t get tragically beautiful endings. People like me fought to within an inch of their lives, continuing to fight even after all hope was lost, grueling determination driving them on until they received an ugly, brutal, drawn out death: a fitting end to an ugly, brutal, drawn out life. Only then could I lay down to rest. Only then could I finally be at peace. 

For now, I would have to suffer. For now, I would have to face the creatures before me.

No, not creatures.

Werewolves.

At least they used to be before they were turned into monsters. Their past selves were barely recognizable now. If you looked close enough though, you could still see the remnants of who they used to be. If you looked closely at the crazed, bloodthirsty eyes and used a bit of imagination, you could make out the telltale narrow, slanted eyes of a werewolf. Even though their mouths were bared to reveal unnaturally long, crooked teeth stained with blood, if your gaze travelled just a bit lower, you could see a characteristic werewolf jaw.

That was the easy part. The head could be considered cute when compared with the rest of it. One glance at the ghastly body made me want to puke, and then pray that the werewolf did not have to suffer in pain for too long. Their bones were jutting out at unnatural angle from their body, as if broken and then somehow lengthened to create the hideous monster standing before us, a beast several times bigger than a regular werewolf. Their claws were also modified, more elongated and sharper than the claws of any werewolf I’ve ever seen, and looked capable of slicing someone’s head clean off in one fell swoop with the ease of a sword.

That seemed to be their current objective too. One of them was advancing towards Eld, Oluo, and Gunther at the far end of the room near the exit. It was quite fortunate for them actually. They had the perfect escape route, and could easily hightail it out of the room if they chose to.

Levi was not so lucky. He was backed in a corner all the way on the other side of the room, almost pressed up against the wall as the werewolf drew nearer and nearer.

“Julian!” Levi shouted again. I forgot he had called me in the first place. My gaze focused on him, noticing the defensive way he was crouched, anticipating the moment when the werewolf would leap and try to strike down its prey. I knew Levi was an excellent fighter, but even he seemed meek and paltry in comparison with the massive conglomeration of muscle, teeth, and claws.

“Julian,” Levi repeated insistently, desperation sharpening his tone. “Go with the others, and get out of here. Don’t try and fight these things. Just go.” I didn’t miss the defeated way his voice trailed off at the end. He was telling me to abandon him and save myself. He was resigning himself to face these things alone.

“Go?” I parroted stupidly. What was he talking about? He couldn’t defeat that monster on his own. A quick surveyal of the slightly strained way he was standing, and of the blood on his clothes revealed that he was injured. If we all left, the best-case scenario would be that we might manage to lead one of the wolves away. That still meant that Levi would have to single-handedly fight the other one. He was sure to die if that happened. Didn’t he know that?

The realization was slow to come with my overwhelmed mind, but when it finally sunk in, it left me reeling.

Levi _planned_ on dying. He didn’t err in his rationale or overlook the facts. He was cunning and quick witted, unlike me, and there was no way that he hadn’t come to the same conclusion that I had when he devised that plan. He wouldn’t have missed the glaringly obvious outcome that would arise if the other vampires and I left him to fend for himself. He would survive for a little awhile in a one-on-one battle with the wolf. He was a good fighter, so it would take some time for the wolf to overpower his extensive combat skill and agile finesse, even despite the fact that he was injured. However, slowly but surely the wolf’s brute strength would chip away at his endurance until it won out, and rendered the vampire too injured and weak to carry on the fight. The wolf would deal the final blow. Then Levi would die a quick but bloody death.

I panickily tried to gauge the accuracy of these suspicions by searching Levi’s body language, and it didn’t take long to find the confirmation I was looking for. His demeanor was still imbued with the same stoicism and tenacity I had come to expect from him, apparent in the defiant lift of his head and the proud way he carried himself, but there was something off about him now. A hint of raw vulnerability shone through his mask of apathy in the wide tenderness of his eyes and defeated slump of his shoulders that spoke volumes above any verbal admission he could have given me. It was a vulnerability that I had never before seen on his features, and I wanted it to go away because it didn’t belong there.

He was blindsiding my expectations once again. He was forcing me to repeat the phrase “vampires don’t have emotion” over and over again in my mind like a mantra in the hopes that my rationality would finally return and destroy the doubts that were threatening to imbalance everything I’ve ever known about vampires. It wasn’t helping that a thin sheen of sweat had coated his face, and the sweat droplets gave the illusion of tears falling down his cheeks.

I snapped to attention when anger started to twist his features. “Run, brat! Don’t just fucking stand there. Get out of here!”

Oluo, Gunther, and Eld seemed to be having the same predicament as me as they stood stuck at an impasse, too smart to stay and fight but too loyal to leave and condemn Levi to death. When I didn’t respond, Levi growled in aggravation and turned his attention to them. “You three, leave _now_.  Take Julian and return back to the base.”

They all paled, but Gunther was the one that spoke, words shaking. “But, Sir…”

_“That’s an order.”_

They stiffened, but unable to defy their Corporal’s orders, they started reluctantly backing towards the door.

At the show of movement, the wolf leapt into action, but while it was huge and strong, it wasn’t as fast as the three nimble vampires. Oluo and Eld dodged to the right, and Gunther dodged to the left, disorienting it. In its confusion, they raced out the door before it could get a hit in. A beat later, the werewolf was chasing after them, hot on their heels.

Soon, the ensemble was out of sight, and a perfect path had been cleared for me to reach the exit.

Levi noticed this as well. “What the fuck are you waiting for? A goodbye party? A farewell kiss? Just run! Get the fuck out of here!” The other wolf growled in response to Levi’s yelling, taking a few steps forward.

I was frozen. I couldn’t bring myself to move. I just couldn’t comprehend that a vampire was sacrificing his life to save another. It went against everything I’ve ever believed and ever known. My whole world was crashing down around me once again and it was all the fault of one vampire.  The first time was our standoff in a crimson field when I had been a wolf and he had been a cold-hearted assassin. Now history was repeating itself, except this time the stalemate was an unruly subordinate refusing to let his self-sacrificing superior make a martyr of himself.   

_In what world did this kind of shit happen?!_

Amidst all the uncertainty, I knew one thing for sure. I was much too stupid and stubborn to leave before I figured out what Levi’s motivations were. I knew in the back of my mind that it was a ridiculous reason to risk my life, but my emotions seemed much more important than logic at the moment. Maybe all of the life-or-death scenarios I had experienced were starting to affect my sanity. Maybe I was just too tired to give a shit about anything. I didn’t even know anymore.

I hadn’t realized I had become angry until I was barking at Levi, hands balled tightly into fists. “What is wrong with you?!” I was _so mad_. Levi was being just as cryptic and mystifying as ever, except now he was also pretending to be brave and selfless in the face of danger, and it was pissing me the fuck off. He never made any fucking sense!

I guess I had shouted the last part because now he was mad too, and lashing a venomous response right back at me. “Julian, we do not have time for this right now. Get your ass out of here _NOW_! _That is a fucking order_!”

“Fuck you and your order!” I screamed back. “I’m not just going to leave you here to die!”

I must have screamed a little too loudly because all of a sudden, the beast whirled around, and its murderous gaze zeroed in on me.

Levi’s voice was feral in its intensity. “ _RUN, JULIAN!”_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE YOU ISAYAMA! *clears throat* Sorry I’m good.
> 
> So heheh soooooooorryyyyy for the cliffhanger… I swear I'm not actually a sadistic person. I wasn’t originally going to have this chapter end on that part, but I’m a piece of shit who can’t be concise to save my life, so I decided 12,000 words was enough of my writing to subject you guys to. But seriously, can you tell how much I LOVE detail? I could fucking marry detail like my god it’s the best thing ever. Gimme the imagery. Gimme the gratuitous metaphors. I'm a very extra kind of person. xD  
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	20. Sinful Pride and Prideful Sin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Blood, blood, and more blood. Oh and there’s death too. There’s even some bloody death… This is rated M for a reason. 
> 
> WE ARE OFFICIALLY AT 20 CHAPTERS PEOPLE! I FEEL LIKE THIS IS SOME KIND OF MILESTONE! And now I present to you a chapter that is 100% pure, self-indulgent action and angst. I’m not even sorry. There’s no remorse here. Not even a little. I’m just a human shell with no soul. 
> 
> Also, just a heads up, I didn’t do as much editing on this chapter as I would have liked to do because I didn’t want to leave you guys hanging on that cliff for too long. (I do occasionally find a bit of mercy in my stone-cold heart. It’s buried deep in there somewhere). However, I am 300% sure that there is some embarrassing mistakes in this, so I’ll probably come back and brush it up. For now, you’ll probably run into a lot of “teh” instead of “the” or “adn” instead of “and.” I never misspell the long, hard words, oh no. It’s the three letter words that throw me for a loop. 
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy all the blood and pain!

 

~ Levi ~

 

By the time I realized my fatal error, it was far too late to do anything about it.

I can’t believe I had been foolish enough to make such a rookie mistake, and during a mission at that. I never relinquished control of my emotions during a mission, and for good reason. Emotion hindered my biggest asset -- my sense of reason -- and without it, I was no longer the experienced, elite Corporal of the Vampire Corps. It transformed me into the bumbling idiot that made clumsy decisions, and was easily blindsided by the simplest of things.

I had, however, let myself succumb to my emotions, and as a result, ended up glossing over the most basic, integral rule of battle: _don’t let yourself get distracted… and yes, that fucking includes pretty, green-eyed boys with feisty attitudes and propensities for attracting trouble._

Had I been in my normal, lucid state of mind, I definitely would have seen the danger behind Rico’s intrigue with Julian. I would have realized that someone as inquisitive and perceptive as Rico was someone to approach with extreme caution.

Unfortunately, my mind was set on revenge and I hadn’t been in the most cautious of moods. As soon as I had deemed her a regular human, she was immediately off of my watch list. I was there to find a rebel werewolf group, after all. More specifically, a certain member of a rebel werewolf group – the russet werewolf who had murdered Petra – and I didn’t have time to waste on mundane humans.

I should have known that the leader of the largest surviving werewolf rebel group would have found a way to hide her scent. If I had stopped and taken a few moments to analyze the situation a little more thoroughly, I would have realized that Rico was more multifaceted than she appeared. If I had, I could have made a better judgement call and gotten my squad out of there before we were caught off guard and ambushed by a small army of werewolves. We could have even captured Rico and tortured her for information. She probably even knew where the russet brown werewolf was. Nevertheless, I hadn’t made a good judgement call, and Rico did catch us off guard. I could only blame myself for missing such a golden opportunity.

Yet, I would have to be ignorant to think that my recent shortcomings didn’t have something to do with the additional member on my squad; the same one who had been the source of several sleepless nights, and had a talent for throwing me into a conflicting whirlwind of confusion, anger, and admiration.

I was fine until I had seen that familiar look in his eye -- the one of unadulterated loathing. I was becoming quite well acquainted with that look since I first met Julian, and I was still at a complete loss as to why he always wore it around me. 

Tonight, he had given me some insight behind that hostility. “ _Neither does that invalidate the wrongs they’ve committed,”_ a harsh, vindictive voice accused, the words replaying mercilessly on loop ever since the moment they were spoken. His antipathy towards me had started to make a little more sense. It was clear to me that those accusatory words weren’t just a vague allegation. They were meant for me. He blamed me for something, and I had absolutely no idea what it was. I knew I could be an insensitive asshole sometimes, and I was very well aware of the many mistakes I’ve made in my life – mistakes that my subconscious reveled in tormenting me for --  but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what I possibly could have done to wrong Julian. I hadn’t even known he existed a week ago.

It was almost like someone up there had sent Julian here just to toy with me. At first glance, Julian seemed to be just a young soldier who was brash, naïve, and had a bit of an anger problem. Except, if he truly was who he seemed to be, he wouldn’t have been able to strike at my pressure points with such pinpointed accuracy: a _dangerous_ accuracy that was potent enough to make me lose sight of the mission while in enemy territory. It was like he was some deceitfully innocent looking ghost with an omniscient knowledge of all my past guilt and regret and whose sole purpose in life was to punish me for my past failures. His haunting eyes constantly made me relive the moment of my parents’ death, his youthful innocence tormented me with glimpses into a life I had long craved for and yet could never have, and his malicious words cast an unforgiving judgement upon me that I knew all too well that I deserved.

Even though I knew I was being a little dramatic, there was definitely something about Julian that went beyond his inconspicuous appearance. There was a reason why he had looked upon me with utter hatred when we had first met, there was a reason he hadn’t trusted me to dress his wounds, there was a reason why he had implied that I had committed some grave wrongdoing, and there was most assuredly a reason why a group of rebel werewolves were hunting him with strict orders to take him back alive, a _vampire_.   

Of course, I had absolutely no idea what that reason was.

I couldn’t think about that now, though. I had to focus on the matter at hand. I had failed both Julian and the rest of my squad by letting them get caught up in this mess -- a mess that could have easily been prevented if I hadn’t been so shortsighted. I didn’t need to dwell on memories of a red-haired girl covered in blood to remind myself of the last time I had failed my team.

I was not about to let this mission become a repeat of last time. This time, I was going to make sure every single member of my squad got out of here alive, even if it killed me in the process.

That was why as soon as Rico had given the order for Julian’s capture, my entire focus was directed towards leading him to a safe place. I found that place in the form of a dark guest room where I could tuck him safely into a corner for the time being while I eliminated the threats downstairs.

As I turned to go, his shell-shocked expression became imprinted in my memory, and I realized there was very little I wouldn’t do to keep that expression off of his face.  I added that to the ever-growing list of why Julian was slowly but surely becoming my Achilles heel.

Now, though, my Achilles heel was safely stowed away, and there was nothing inhibiting me from raining sheer hell on the werewolves who had deigned to think they could just walk in and claim Julian like he was nothing more than an object. The werewolves were dearly mistaken if they thought this fight was going to be a swift and easy victory.  They could underestimate us all they wanted, but if so, they were overlooking one very important element.

If they wanted Julian, they were going to have to go through me first.

With Julian’s face still etched in my mind, I got down to business. Backed up against the wall of the staircase, I drew my gun, took a single breath, and with no further hesitation, launched myself out into the crossfire of bullets. Aiming my gun, I fired at the first werewolf who was unfortunate enough to enter my vision at that moment, and soon my bullets were joining in on the cascade of gunfire throughout the room.

I never thought I would see the day where I fought werewolves who chose to fight in their human form instead of their wolf form. Not a single one had shifted into their wolf form, even though I could smell the fresh scent of wolf on them. It was like they had run here as werewolves, and then shifted back to their two-legged form just so they could prove that they could beat us with our own weapons. It was a prideful, risky move. Those were weapons invented for the express purpose of killing werewolves, not vampires. It would take a lot of bullets to take down a vampire, and I almost laughed at their sheer stupidity.

Silver met skin, and the wolf I had targeted clutched their blood-soaked neck and fell down with a pained cry and a gurgle as blood filled their airway. With another precise set of movements, four more werewolves soon met the same fate as the first. Then another. And another. Every new shout followed by a thud fueled the rising fire within me that only ever burned this bright during combat.

With each fire of my gun, I imagined it was the russet brown werewolf who fell to the floor writhing in agony, spewing blood until the life drained from their body. The visual spurred me on even more, and another body joined the growing collection after an unrelenting curl of my trigger finger.

It wasn’t long before I fell into a lulling rhythm of fast-paced action, and I let my body rule my mind as if on autopilot.

On the battlefield, there was no guilt. There were no emotional burdens that could weigh me down. There was no thinking, just doing and reacting. My body was no longer a prison, but a weapon --a _powerful_ weapon—and it was completely at my disposal to command it however I pleased. 

_Roll to the right. Now kneel. Aim. Fire. Move on to the next target._

My rhythm stuttered to a halt when I pulled the trigger of my gun, and it clicked empty. I tsked in irritation. I was carrying a smaller firearm than I was used to since undercover missions called for more concealable weaponry. The size made it optimum for hiding beneath clothes, but that advantage came at the expense of functionality, requiring more frequent reloading than what suited my pragmatic taste.

I ducked for cover behind a heavy wooden table to take a moment to reload and, as I did so, felt the air whip past me as a bullet sailed just a bit shy of my face. Nearby, I heard a slight shuffle of feet that promised a more accurate aim next time, and in an instant, I threw myself to the ground just in time to miss a stream of bullets that raced perilously close above my flattened frame.

Adrenaline and anger exploded in my veins, and my head snapped in the direction where the bullets had come from. It didn’t take long to pinpoint the culprit.

Rico was standing about 15 yards away from my defensive position behind the table. Her two pistols from earlier had been discarded and replaced with a semiautomatic M4. It was a much more efficient gun, but the potency of her weapon still didn’t hold a candle to the power that I held over her. Her gun would wound me, mine would kill her.

Nevertheless, a smug smile adorned her face. “Ready to die, vampire?” She called from across the room, raising her gun.

A new smell reached my senses from her still warm gun, and only then did I realize just how much danger I was in. 

The next few moments spun by in a blur of panic. I hastily located the position of Eld, Gunther, and Oluo who were spread out near the edges of the room where the gunfire was thinner. Then all I had time do was make a split-second decision to lure her fire away from them before her gun went off.

I mostly dodged the attack, but I was a hair too slow. Two wooden bullets sank deep into my right arm, and I let out a small grunt of surprise, stumbling a bit in the process of dodging. I tried to recover by utilizing the momentum from my misstep to throw myself on the ground away from Rico.

That’s when everything erupted in pain, and it took everything I had not to scream.

After an indeterminate, hazy period of time, I became aware of a taunting laugh beyond the ringing in my head. “What, did you think we were using silver bullets?” The voice sounded chillingly close to where I had fallen on the ground, and I rushed to pinpoint the source.

Another slew of gunshots went off, and the fresh pain that exploded in my leg quickly joined the pain in my arm. I was a bit more prepared for it this time though, and I was quicker to recover from the shock of being shot with wooden bullets.

I had heard the gunshot go off somewhere on my right, and without wasting the time of locating her with my eyes, I recalled where I had heard the gun, used my sense of smell to pinpoint a more specific location, and incorporated the fact that she had probably moved closer to me since then into my calculation. Then, I fired.

The delicious scent of blood filled my nostrils in a satisfying revelation of my victory.

Rico didn’t leave me time to celebrate. She was on me in a second, a herculean feat considering there was a silver bullet weakening her body, and I hadn’t even had time to find my balance before she shoved me in the chest using the wide, blunt side of her gun.

I stumbled when all the weight of my body was put on my injured leg, but it didn’t throw me off for long. Even while injured, close combat was my specialty.

I pistol-whipped her hard across the face, and while she was still recovering from the blow, I used my other hand to twist her wrist into a painfully unnatural angle that was followed by a sharp snapping sound and a grunt as the bone broke. With the hold on her gun weakened, a swift kick easily knocked the weapon from her hands, and sent it clattering across the ground.

I had been about to send her flying to the ground to join her gun, but a shot fired from behind me, and the only reason I was able to evade it was thanks to pure, adrenaline heightened reflexes. I cursed out loud at my own forgetfulness to be aware of my surroundings.

The werewolf who had taken advantage of my blunder was a broody man with a mustache, and a deep scowl creasing his face. I wasn’t sure if I imagined it, but I could have sworn he just sniffed the air with a disapproving shake of his head.

Surprisingly, Rico looked about as miffed as I was with the interruption. “Mike, stop. I can handle this. Just focus on detaining the others.”

Her words sent an electric rage coursing through me veins. “Detain?” I scoffed. “What a polite word for kill.”

Her lips curled into a cruel smile, and she tilted her head up so that she was looking down on me with narrowed eyes. “Oh no, I meant detain. Did you really think I would let you vamps die with a quick wooden bullet to the heart? That’s precious.”

I immediately thought back to how all her shots seemed to be focused on non-vital areas, and realized she was probably telling the truth. This wasn’t the first time I had come across werewolves who thought they would be the ones to give me “the divine punishment all vampires deserve.” They were usually young, unskilled werewolves who were easy to overpower and eliminate. With Rico, though, an alarm bell rang in the back of my mind. She wasn’t the typical werewolf with a vendetta. She wanted to take Julian alive for some reason, and I didn’t want to think about the horrible things she planned on doing to him.

A growl slipped out of my throat at the thought. “Oh, are we playing games now? I’m not one to play with my food, but I could make an exception just this once.” I had no intention of drinking her blood after defeating her, but the taunt had its intended effect.

“You’re not getting anywhere near my blood, _vampire_.” With that, she snarled, and darted towards me. Soon, the sound took on a throaty, animalistic quality as her human body changed into that of a pale blonde wolf.

She wasn’t large as far as werewolves went, but she was stocky with a heavy layering of muscle that ensured there was power in that small body.

I easily sidestepped Rico’s attack with the adept footwork of someone whose dedicated years of their life to mastering fighting techniques. She landed lightly behind me and didn’t miss a beat as she spun around on her heels and used the momentum to launch at me again, clearly as well adapted to combat as I was. Despite her skill, she couldn’t quite match me in speed, and I could have dodged her attack if I wanted to.

Instead, I decided to test her strength. She came at me full force, and I let her jump on me, throwing my arms up in an “X” in front of my face and stepping backwards to soften the blow. Her forelegs connected sturdily with my raised arms, and I fell backwards. I didn’t let myself remain in a compromised position for long, and I recovered with an elegant backwards roll, doling out a petty kick in the face as I went.  

I’m not sure why she was so confident in her abilities that she told her comrade not to come to her aid. After my assessment of her, she didn’t seem like much of a threat without her gun. She did have a tactically sound combination of speed and strength that would do wonders against big, brawny opponents. However, that wasn’t who she was fighting. She was fighting me, which was quite unfortunate for her because I knew her fighting style all too well. I knew because it was mine. I was very well acquainted with utilizing one’s small size and quick speed to overcome an enemy gradually with bursts of weak but quickfire attacks. Adversely, I also knew the weaknesses of such of a fighting style. In order to defeat an opponent that was your match in skill, all you had to do was be quicker or so strong that their attacks did little to no damage. 

In this case, I was the former.

My kick angered her, and her growling rose in volume, spit flying from her mouth in a disgusting display. Despite being riled up, I was pleased to see that she wasn’t stupid enough to come at me again with the same head on maneuver; defeating a smart opponent was a much more thrilling experience.  

Instead, she leaned back on her haunches defensively, circling me slowly and waiting for me to take the offensive.

I granted her wish. One moment I was standing 10 feet away, and the next I was right next to her and kneeing her in the throat. She made a gagging sound and tried to back away, but she couldn’t escape my onslaught of fierce kicks and punches that were striking too fast for the mortal eyes of a werewolf to make sense of.

I stopped when I felt my injured arm and leg scream in protest and took a moment to recuperate. As I did, I surveyed the room for Eld, Gunther, and Oluo. They were immersed in their own battles, and seemed to be faring as well as I was.

I turned back to Rico, preparing to do a repeat attack like my last one when a eardrum shattering, whistling sound pierced the air. I grunted in pain as it became progressively shriller, my sensitive hearing picking up the high decibel painfully well, and I fell to my knees in an effort to escape the horrid sound.

I also threw my hands over my ears to try and muffle it, and the barrier did seem to help somewhat, the stabbing sensation in my eardrums noticeably lessened. Through the ringing, I was now able to make out the faint laughter of a woman that grew softer and more distant as the seconds passed. It eventually faded away completely, and I was left alone with the dreadful noise and the heavy throbbing in my ears.

Finally, the ringing dissipated, and I was enveloped in a blissful silence, except for the lingering buzz still present in my abused ears. I started to worry that the sound had somehow affected my eyesight as well until I realized that the cause of my blindness was due to the fact that my eyes were squeezed shut. I opened them and immediately regretted it as the lamplight from the room sent a wave of intense pain shooting between my eyes, which was quickly followed by an onslaught of dizziness and nausea.  

I suppressed the urge to vomit right then and there, and looked around the room to check on the state of the others. Like me, they were also on the ground and were in varying states of pain and disorientation. That didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was that all the werewolves from earlier had fled the area, leaving me and my squad alone in the room.

The previously inviting room had undergone a brutal transformation. Many of the bulky, wooden tables had been knocked over during the fighting, and the warm lamplight that had encompassed the room earlier was now interrupted with patches of darkness where the lightbulbs had been shattered from stray gunfire. The clean floor had become littered with glass shards, broken bottles, and the varying shades of yellow, red, and brown contents of those bottles. All the bodies of the dead werewolves had disappeared, leaving only a viscous pool of blood on the floor as the only indicator that they had ever been there at all, blood intermixing with alcohol in a morbid concoction.

I pushed myself off the ground unsteadily, swaying on my feet and trying to fight through another wave of nausea that clawed at my stomach. I began to make my way towards the exit to go after the fleeing werewolves when a vicious growling broke the short-lived silence.

I was well used to the sound of a werewolf growl by now, seeing as I’ve had to fight them for a majority of my life. It was an ugly sound: a deep, discordant rumbling that turned into a rolling gurgle in the back of their throat. There were variations on the sound, of course, depending on the werewolf. Some had more breathy growls, others had growls that sounded like something was rattling in the back of their throat, and a few didn’t growl at all, preferring to pant and bark.

This sound wasn’t like anything I had ever heard before from a werewolf. If werewolf growls were demonic, then this ghoulish snarling was the voice of Satan himself.   

The sound was unceasing, and it seemed to be ascending in volume with every passing moment. That could only mean one thing; the owner of the hellish voice was heading this way, and they were getting _close._

_“Did you really think I would let you vamps die with a quick wooden bullet to the heart?”_

Rico’s words made the situation all too clear. She wanted me and my squad to die horrific deaths, and she had sent some kind of devilish hellhounds to do the job. If I wasn’t so irritated by the prospect of another fight, I might have even been a little impressed.

I found my empty gun lying a few feet away, and I wearily dragged myself over to pick it up.

The movement seemed to rouse my team. “Sir, what’s the plan?”

I released the empty magazine from my gun, and popped a new one in. “The plan is to fight like hell.”

The chorus of howls reached a crescendo right outside the building, and I readied my shooting stance, aiming my gun at the entrance.

“And don’t you dare die on me.”

 

~ Eren ~

 

“ _RUN, JULIAN_!”

In the short period of time since I met Levi, I could probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually listened to what he had to say.

This was one of those times.

The giant beast sprang into action with a speed that was unfair for a creature of that size to possess. As the little guy, wasn’t I supposed to be the fast one?

Evidently not because it effortlessly overcame my pathetic attempt to run away. I hadn’t even turned around before two massive paws dug into my chest, claws biting easily into the soft skin, and I tumbled to the ground with a pained cry.

Being pinned on the ground by a monster who could give even Levi a run for his money in battle was not the most ideal situation to be in. I felt like the entire weight of the world was currently pressing down on my chest, preventing any much-needed air from entering my burning lungs. An overwhelming sense of urgency flooded through me in the form of my pounding heart, and my frenzied mind screaming the same thing over and over in a panicked mantra. “ _Eren, you’re about to die. DO SOMETHING!”_

I knew exactly what I wanted to do in that nerve-wracking moment, and I almost let myself submit to the yearning. My every pore tingled eagerly in reaction to the danger, demanding that I shift into a much more powerful form. A form where I might actually have a shot of defeating this werewolf-on-steroids. There was only one thing keeping those floodgates from bursting open and preventing me from giving in to my body’s desperate desire to transform, and that was the red flag waving in my mind, reminding me that a very strong vampire, who also happened to hold a huge grudge against my werewolf self, was present just a few feet away. If I shifted now, not only would I be fighting against this monster, but I would also turn my only current ally into yet another enemy that I would have to deal with. It was either human Eren and one slightly-injured-but-still-badass vampire against one hell of a werewolf, or werewolf Eren against both one hell of a werewolf and a could-easily-slay-my-ass, vengeance driven vampire.

I didn’t even need to finish that thought before I had made my decision.

Human Eren it was.

Unfortunately for me, the only thing Human Eren could do was scream and try to claw at the log-like legs pinning me down _._ Yeah, I’m sure that tactic would be very effective.

Before I could devise a better course of action, the wolf let out a warning growl and I just barely moved my head in time before razor sharp teeth snapped down in the place my head used to be. In the process of dodging its attack, I shifted my weight slightly to the side and felt something hard dig into my hip.

Hallelujah bells went off in my mind. I had _a gun_. I had a _motherfucking gun_.

A shaky hand clawed desperately at my hip until I managed to retrieve the source of my salvation.

It snapped its jaws down at my head again, and I dodged the best one could when being pinned down by a hulking wolf that surpassed their weight many times over. Its teeth clamped together just a hair’s breadth away from my face once again, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was playing a very morbid game of whack-a-mole except the mole was my head and the mallet was a lethal mutant werewolf mouth – a mouth that was currently hovering so close to my face, I could smell the acrid stench of its breath and I had to suppress a gag.

One of its meaty paws lifted, and I got one beautiful breath of air before the paw came slamming back down on my neck, effectively choking me and locking my head in place.

After another heart pounding moment of fumbling with the safety on my gun, the werewolf opened its mouth preparing to deal the death blow just as a satisfying click went off as the safety was removed and I could have cried with joy.

I raised the gun to shoot at the same time it lifted its head, preparing to dive down to bite my head off. 

I froze.

The eyes staring back at me were werewolf eyes. They were murderous, half-crazed eyes that were red instead of yellow and all wrong in every single way. Yet, they were still identifiable as werewolf eyes, and I physically could not pull the trigger. I could not kill one of my own, even if they had been turned into a monster.  

 _I will not murder a werewolf. I cannot shatter every moral I’ve ever known_ , I thought resolutely as my dad’s face appeared in my mind. 

_“Daddy, daddy! Can you tell me more stories about the vampires?”_

_“Haha, ok calm down, son. Do you want me to tell you the one where the brave, valiant werewolf, Lupus, slays the evil vampire, Dracula?”_

_“Nooooo, tell me more about the cool vampire powers! Like their super awesome healing powers, or oh! And how they can smell things from like super far away! Oh, oh! And how they’re really, super, speedy fast!”_

_“Eren, why do you want to hear about all that?”_

_“Because it’s cool!”_

_“No, it’s not cool.”_

_“Oh… it’s not?”_

_“No, it not. Those powers are how vampires kill werewolves. Their powers are evil.”_

_“Oh, killing is evil?”_

_“Yes, Eren. It’s extremely evil.”_

_“Does that mean Lupus is evil because he killed Dwacula?”_

_“No, Lupus is a hero. He saved many innocent lives by killing Dracula.”_

_“Sooooo, killing is ok if you’re saving people?”_

_“Exactly.”_

_“But wasn’t Dwacula twying to save his daughter?”_

_“His daughter was a vampire. She had killed many people, and that’s why Lupus had to kill her.”_

_“I’m confused, daddy.”_

_“It’s ok, Eren, I’ll explain it to you. Killing is very bad. Vampires kill a lot of people all the time, and even though killing is wrong, it’s ok to kill vampires to protect the people you love.”_

_“Can vampires love, daddy?”_

_“No, they can’t, Eren. They don’t kill to protect the ones they love like werewolves do. They kill because they enjoy it.”_

_“Oh. That’s not very nice of them.”_

_“No it’s not. That’s why we have to kill them before they can kill us. It’s called self-defense.”_

_“And it’s not shelf-dwefense when vampires kill werewolves?”_

_“No, it’s not. Killing a werewolf is murder.”_

Murder.

I couldn’t murder a werewolf. I would rather die, which seemed like a pretty likely outcome at this point as I lay there, waiting to be struck down by one of my own kind.

My inevitable death never came. Instead, a gun went off, and I almost sobbed in horror. Had I accidentally pulled the trigger?

Then, I realized there was no way that the shot could have come from me because my gun couldn’t shoot from any angle that would snap the wolf’s head to the side like that. It was a perfect headshot -- a shot that would have killed any other werewolf.

Yet, all it managed to do was off balance the beast a bit, just enough to remove some of the weight on my neck, allowing me to roll out from underneath it.

I sucked in a huge, raspy breath of air as the crushing pressure was finally removed from my lungs, unable to move as I processed the fact that I was still alive and even more surprising, that the wolf was still alive even after getting shot in the head. While I was still gasping for air and trying to make a modicum of sense out of the situation, I could feel strong arms wrap around my knees and my back before they lifted me up with ease and carried me away from danger.

“You must have a fucking death wish, brat.”

His words didn’t really register in my adrenaline-ridden, traumatized mind. “Wait, I thought—I mean how is it still…But you shot it? I think? Then how…”

Levi set me down behind one of the knocked over tables, and then crouched down next to me with a feline finesse. “Bullets don’t work on that thing. They can’t penetrate its bone,” he informed me with a surprising calmness considering his words meant that the only weapon at our disposal was completely useless. I was a little surprised at the feelings of disappointment his statement evoked. I had just come to terms with dying, and now a few seconds later, I was right back to wanting to stay alive. Well, I guess my self-preservation instinct had decided to kick in. I wracked my brain for a possible way out of here.

“You should have run when you had the chance,” Levi muttered as he came to the same conclusion that I had. There was no way out of here, not alive at any rate.  

I probably should have run when I had the chance, but I didn’t. Now, I was stuck with that decision, and his would-have, could-have, should-have nonsense wasn’t helping the situation any. “Maybe, but then where would that have left you?” I reminded him angrily, annoyed at his lackadaisical attitude towards his own survival.

As soon as I had spoken, he whipped around to face me with barely contained rage. “You do realize that by not running when you had the chance, you just made my job a whole hell of a lot harder,” he berated harshly, his hard gaze pinning me to the spot. “Now, I have to worry about saving you and defeating that thing. I don’t know who you thought you were helping by resigning yourself to death, but it sure as hell wasn’t me,” he bit out, looking away from me with a scoff like the very sight of me disgusted him.

I could hear the wolf stomping around the room looking for us, but for some reason, I deemed my pride more important than staying quiet. “I’m not some damsel in distress, you know,” I spat at him. “I can fight.”

“ _Can you_?” He laughed scornfully, facing me again except now with a look of pure contempt. It made me feel small, and I suddenly missed the anger from a moment ago. “Because you could have fooled me.”   

Unbridled fury heated my blood, and I had to clench my fists to stop myself from punching him in the face. I suddenly didn’t care that I was in a very dangerous situation with an almost certain possibility of death. I didn’t care that my only ally was a vampire and that my opponent was a werewolf. I didn’t even care that I might not ever see my sister again. The only thing that mattered to me in that moment was proving to Levi that he was wrong.

“ _Watch me_ ,” I hissed, and that was the only warning I gave before standing up and stepping out into plain sight of the werewolf. Fortunately, it had wandered to the other side of the room, buying me time to come up with a plan.

“Julian, what _the actual fuck_ are you doing?!” It stiffened at the sound of Levi’s voice, spinning around and setting its blood-red eyes on me. The deafening roar it let out upon seeing me rattled in my eardrums, and I realized belatedly that it was probably still mad about being shot in the face.

As it hurtled towards me at a breakneck speed, I was suddenly a lot less confident in my ability to defeat this thing.

Even though it had initially been all the way across the room, it traversed that distance in practically no time at all, its fast approaching form almost surreal, and all I had time to do was throw myself haphazardly to the side. It tore past me, unable to slow down in time before slamming headfirst into one of the knocked over tables.

It staggered on its feet from the impact, bellowing in pain, and I could almost physically feel the lightbulb go off in my head as I realized the beast had just handed me the perfect mechanism in which to take it down. It was much, much stronger than me, and much, much faster than me, but it didn’t seem to be all that bright. I think even I could outwit this thing if I played my cards right.

“Levi, follow my lead!” I called out before ducking behind the cover of another table. I waited with baited breath as the creature stormed around the room looking for me. I remained in that position until it’s panting and growling sounded like it was a good distance away.  

Then, I leaped out from behind the cover of the table, and yelled, “Yo, I’m over here, big guy! Come and get me!” As I suspected, it started sprinting in my direction with a roar of fury, and I once again leapt out of the way just in time for it to smash into the table behind me in a repeat of what happened earlier.

It moaned and shook its head back-and-forth in pain. I went to hide behind another table, but it recovered much quicker this time, spotting me before I could I completely obscure myself from view.

 _Shit._ The wolf wandered around the table to where I was, completely vulnerable with nowhere to hide. I was sure I was goner until a shot fired from across the room, hitting the beast square in the face.

It instantly forgot about me, now much more focused on Levi who was leaning up against the bar, waving the gun above his head dramatically just in case the beast didn’t know who had fired the shot. I watched in amazement as Levi copied my move flawlessly, waiting casually next to the bar for a few beats longer than I could have waited before suddenly vanishing into thin air just in time for the wolf to run head first into the solid wood of the bar. When Levi didn’t reappear, I realized it was my turn again to perform the move. 

Even though I had already done it twice, it was still just as terrifying the third time to watch this giant animal run towards me at a ridiculously fast speed, and having to wait to the very last moment to get out of the way of its deadly claws and teeth before they could rip me to shreds.

To my absolute horror, as it started to near me, it slowed down and came to a dead stop right in front of me, apparently having learned its lesson this time.

Heart stopping terror seized my body as the animal leered down at me, its mouth twisted in what appeared to be a gloating grin as if it was aware that it had outsmarted me.

I grappled for my gun, but it quickly swiped at my arm, tearing long, bloody gashes with its claws. I gasped and clutched at my arm as fiery pain attacked the nerves there, dropping my gun in the process. Before I could pick it back up again, it slashed at my face, throwing me to the side and slicing cuts along my cheek to match my arm.

I grunted as I collided with the ground, filled with bitter disappointment that I had failed. I had been so close to defeating it. Just a few more concussing hits to the head, and it probably would have been too battered to keep on fighting. I hadn’t at all counted on it being smart enough to see through my tactic, and now the game was up. I didn’t even have my gun anymore, and even though I knew it wouldn’t do much damage against a creature like this, it still left me feeling naked.

I didn’t even try to move out of the way as it made its way to where it had thrown me, despair weighing my body down until I felt like my muscles were filled with lead. Actually, it was probably exhaustion that kept me from moving, but despair was much more poetic. I think I could afford to be self-indulgent considering I only had a few moments left to live.

It licked its lips as it stared down at me, and I hated myself for closing my eyes, too cowardly to watch my death play out in front of me like some kind of demented nightmare coming to life. I could hear it rear up on its legs, and I tensed, waiting for the moment when it would come crashing down, at which point it would proceed to tear me to pieces.

Someone let out a ragged shout, and I was convinced it was me until I realized that I had no reason to be shouting since I wasn’t being torn apart by a werewolf. I blinked my eyes open in confusion and was met with the sight of the creature with its jaw clamped around Levi’s middle, whipping him back and forth like a chew toy.

Levi -- the vampire who had apparently just saved my life by jumping into what was literally the jaws of death.   

Bright red vampire blood sprayed from his body as the wolf shook its head from side to side, enlarging the holes that it had already ripped in his torso with its long, curved fangs. If I had been in his same situation, I would probably be screaming my guts out. In contrast, all Levi did was stiffen up a bit, letting out a periodic gasp as each swing of the werewolf’s head forced the air from his body.

Most people probably would have felt indebted to the person who had just saved their life, or at least hold some semblance of gratitude for the person who had so courageously risked their lives. That must make me completely heartless because all I felt was fury as I watched my savior get progressively bloodied to a pulp. I didn’t ask him to save my life. I didn’t want to be saved by a vampire. He had no right to pull that self-sacrificing bullshit, not when I had no idea what he was hoping to accomplish with it. There was no around to witness it his brave act but me.

The creature dropped him on the ground with a thud, and pinned him there with one giant paw, pressing into his injured torso. Levi just winced in response, and struggled halfheartedly to get out of its hold to no avail.

All I could do was watch in horror as the beast leaned down and bit into Levi’s exposed throat.

Even then, Levi didn’t scream. The only reaction he gave to the fact that he was about to die was a small, almost imperceptible sigh. I imagined the life draining from his eyes, his body in what was certainly an extraordinary amount of pain as it happened. He would suffer as he died, I was sure of it. I would even get to watch it transpire.

Nevertheless, I still wasn’t satisfied. That wasn’t the revenge I wanted. Even though he was suffering, he had risked his life to save me, and that wasn’t the cathartic resolution I needed. I needed him to admit what he had done. I needed him to confess that he had murdered a village of innocent werewolves who had done _nothing_ to him. _Nothing._ He needed to know that he was a soulless monster, and I would have him begging for mercy before I finally ended his life with my own hand. I needed to hear him scream. I needed to see the guilt in his eyes as his life reached a slow, bitterly painful end. He was suffering now, but I needed him to suffer _more_.

_I needed him to suffer as much as I had._

The thought that I would never get any justice for my family and friends was finally what motivated me to stand up, and look desperately around the room for something, anything, that I could use to save Levi’s life.

I found it in the form of an M4 lying beneath a table nearby. I felt like I was moving in slow motion as I floated across the floor, and picked up the gun with a hand that didn’t feel like it was mine. It didn’t feel real to me as I walked over to where Levi was dying, and pointed the gun methodically at the beast who was focused wholly on ripping into Levi’s throat.

_“Bullets don’t work on that thing. They can’t penetrate its bone.”_

With that thought in mind, I aimed carefully for its eye socket, and pulled the trigger.

Booming gunshots echoed in my ears and throughout the room, and the recoil was much more intense than I was used to, but I continued to fire mercilessly at my target. I continued to fire even after one of my bullets met its mark and sunk deep into the werewolf’s eye socket, plunging into its brain. I continued to fire even after its eyes glazed over, and it collapsed on the ground in a twitching heap.

It was only when I heard Levi shouting something at me, something that registered as an incoherent jumble of syllables in my mind, did I finally let the gun clatter to the ground.

He had somehow dislodged himself from the dead werewolf’s clutches and was now standing over me; worry softened his normally stone-cold eyes. “Julian, you’re shaking. Come on, sit down. You’re fine. It’s ok. It’s dead. You killed it. It’s dead.” A comforting hand feathered gently along my back, giving me something to focus on besides the werewolf lying deathly still on the ground nearby. The hand was a comfort, that is until the chill started to prickle my skin. Levi was trying to comfort me. A vampire was _comforting_ me. He had almost died, and yet he was the one comforting _me._ If I wasn’t still in shock, I might have even laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

But I couldn’t laugh. I couldn’t even move. All I could do was stare down at my wretched hands. My disgusting, blood soaked hands. The ones that had betrayed me. No, it wasn’t my hands’ fault. It was me. I had betrayed myself.

I had just killed a werewolf to save the life of a vampire. I had killed one of my own for the sake of revenge, and I didn’t feel even an ounce of regret.  

_“Daddy, can I fight vampires one day? Like Lupus in the story?”_

_“I hope that you never come across a situation where you have to fight a vampire. Don’t you want to live a peaceful life here with me, Mom, and Mikasa?”_

_“But I want to fight vampires! I want to help innocent people too!”_

_“That’s very brave of you, son. I’m proud of you.”_

**_“I’m proud of you, Eren.”_ **

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An actual conversation I had with my brother:  
> "Hey bro, what are those small guns called? Not the machine guns, but the other ones."  
> "There's a lot of small guns, but I think you mean a pistol."  
> "Yes! A pistol! And like what are those reload-y things called? The things with the bullets?"  
> "A magazine... Why do you want to know?"  
> "No reason gotta go bye!"
> 
> Sneak peek into the next chapter: Levi has no mercy for brats who don’t follow his orders.
> 
> Thanks for reading! And thanks so much for all the kind comments you guys have left!


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